Prisoners of War
by Obsidian Buterfly
Summary: Wolf, stop it." She tried to push me away, but I only moved my head to reclaim her lips. "My name is Syaoron." I growled at her once before going back to what I was doing. Warning: AU, Darker themes than any of my previous works I think Character deat
1. Pretty Face

**_A/N: I hope you enjoy this story._**

She had green eyes.

That was the first thing I noticed when they brought her to my holding cell.

The next thing I noticed was that her long hair was pulled back in a practical braid though a few shorter strands of caramel had escaped to frame her porcelain, doll-like face.

At first glance, she could have passed off as something delicate and fragile, but I could recognize that confidence and self-assurance that only came with experience. Despite the pretty face, that girl possessed a tongue that would have made the most veteran spacers turn red with shame.

The guard ignored all the wonderful names she bestowed upon him as he shoved her inside and punched the panel in the wall. Laser beams crisscrossed across the exit, barring the only exit to my cell. The girl swung back on her feet with the grace of a gymnast even though her hands were restrained behind her back in Cerellium handcuffs.

"I'll _kill _you, you fucking bastards!" she snarled at the sneering guard, "let me out and I'll show you exactly how _soft_ I am."

"Say hello to your new roommate, Wolf," he looked past the girl to smirk at me, even though she kept screaming obscenities at him.

"Didn't think you'd be considerate enough to bring me company," I drawled, lounging back in my stiff bunk. It was uncomfortable as hell but like Miss Pretty-face, I was ignoring my discomfort. I had slept under worse conditions after all.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, she's quite a handful," he smirked, his face distorting like the image of a holovision as the detaining force-field activated. Leering at my new roommate, the guard blew her a kiss before turning to walk away with his gun-wielding buddy.

"Get back here damn it!" she screeched, green eyes flashing in rage as she ran towards the force-field just they vanished around a corner.

"Easy now—" I started to warn her but her foot had already collided with the field. I felt the energy converge at the point of contact before surging into her body, throwing her away with enough force to knock the air out of my lungs as she barreled into me.

Her face held a look of bewilderment when I looked down at her, all pressed up against me. Tch, figures. She must be a newbie if she was so shocked at being thrown back by the force-field. Probably hadn't expected that to happen.

"Whoa there, Dollface," I grinned, feeling her whole body tense up as she realized the position she was in, "kicking that shit is only gonna give you a busted foot you know." I watched the blood rush to her face as she struggled to get off me though I simply sat back to enjoy as she squirmed over me. I suppose it must be rather difficult to get up if you've got your hands tied behind your back. I was surprised that she didn't ask me to help her as she wriggled and twisted, falling off the bunk with a painful thud in the process.

"The name's Wolf," I said, pushing my elbows behind me to get into a half seated position as she struggled to her feet.

"Cherry," she replied, regarding me with a careful and calculating gaze.

"So what'd you do to end up in this place?"

"The royal convoy got attacked as we were passing this planet," she said, moving around to study the tiny cell.

"Pirates?" I cocked my brow.

"No." I noticed that a pained look flashed across her features though she didn't bother to elaborate.

"I'm guessing this was your first time."

"Getting attacked?" She gave a bitter laugh.

"Escorting the Royals," I shook my head.

She was dressed up in a guard's uniforms so it wasn't hard to guess what her job must have been.

"Escorting the…" she trailed off, her gaze becoming distant as she stared at the blank wall to my right. I wondered what she might have been thinking about when she sighed and looked down to her feet. "I just hope everyone is alright." I heard her mumble.

"Well, if they were lucky," I lay back down again, resting my head on my folded arms, "they would have gotten away in time. If they were unlucky…" I didn't bother finishing the sentence as I closed my eyes and decided to get some rest. She looked smart enough to figure that one out by herself.

I had nearly drifted off to sleep when she spoke up again.

"What about you?" she asked.

"What about me?" I repeated sleepily, stifling a yawn.

"How did you end up here?" she said and I cracked an eye open to see her looking at me curiously.

"Got caught on a job," I replied, turning my back to her. "Better try and get some sleep while you still can, Dollface."

I heard her sharp intake of breath as she had no doubt, gotten her first look at my mangled back though I ignored her. Like I said before, I had been in much worse positions than this. Dollface didn't reply, though I did hear her shuffle across the floor to get to the second bunk in my cell.


	2. Breakout

_**A/N: I think today is a mega update day! So hurray for you guys. Enjoy!**_

"Oye, Wolfie, get your ass up!" I woke to the sweet, dulcet tones of my regular escort guard. Time for another _session,_ as they liked to call it. It had been couple of weeks since I had been sharing my sleeping quarters with Cherry. I had already attended eleven such session in that duration.

Stretching lazily and carelessly, I cast a glance around the cell to see Pretty-face up against the wall with a gun trained right in the middle of her shoulders.

Okay, call me stupid or whatever, but I find that very insulting.

They have a _girl_ my age backed up against a wall with the muzzle of an automatic ready to blast her at the slightest of twitches and they sent just _one_ measly guard for me? Just because I had been unable to _walk_ back to the stupid cell the day before yesterday, did not mean that I was a slow healer. Even if more than half my magic was restrained due to the cerelium walls of my little prison, I still had enough of it to help me heal.

Oh well. Their own loss for taking me so lightly. I most definitely would not be pointing out their stupidity to them.

"Good morning to you too." I said pleasantly as I made a show of stretching my limbs once again when I climbed to my feet.

"Yeah, yeah, hurry up you runt, I have more important things to do than baby sit all day." He growled as his hand reaching for my wrist so that he could detain me.

Careless move on their part. With a startled yelp, he was on the floor. Before he could even register what was happening, I struck at his pressure points and he was out cold. Before the gun wielding guard had a chance to even register what was happening, I had him slumped on the ground as well.

"And _this_ is what you get for underestimating me," I purposefully strode on their hands as I picked up the fallen gun. "It was nice meeting you Pretty-face, but I believe I have a breakout to attempt."

"So do I," she mimicked my actions, only she chose to grind her boots in their faces as she retrieved the second gun.

"Alright sweetheart," I casually strode out of the doorway, walking as though I owned the place, "just try not to get in my way."

"You wish," she responded coldly as she moved past me.

My grin widened as I walked only a couple of steps behind her.

_**A/N: Don't forget to review. I am really sorry for the shortness of this chapter but I promise the next one will be like one, two… five time longer in comparison to this. And you guys will get to find out what is going on. Or well part of what might be going on. But only if you squint. ;) ;)**_

_**Don't forget to review.**_

_**And vote! The poll is on my profile.**_

_**~Ja**_


	3. Owning it up?

"Ngh." despite my best effort, a small cry of pain managed to escape from my lips as I was hit yet again. I was currently suspended from the roof by my wrists, with almost a foot gap between the floor and my feet. Let me tell you, _not_ a very comfortable position to be in.

Shortly after we had escaped from the holding cell, a warning siren had started blaring in the hallways. Somehow they had found out about our escape. But hey, it wasn't something that I couldn't handle. Or at least I thought it wasn't

For the past two months, that freak, Bat, had me locked up in one of his cells. Or rather his cronies had locked me up, trying to find out what I had been doing inside one of their top secret research facilities. I doubt Bat, even knew I had been caught. I would have gotten a visit by now, if he did.

For a major part of my captivity, all I had been subjected to had been subtle, low scale torture methods. After all, they had no idea of who they were dealing with. Thanks to my physical appearance, one wouldn't think too much of me. And for that I was glad.

I had broken into Fei's personal databases to find the location of something highly classified but equally important to me and someone close to me. The retrieval had gone quite smoothly and I had almost made it to the spaceport when their patrol spotted me. I had passed the files to my partner and helped him get away, telling him that I would catch up later.

Sadly though, I was outnumbered and quickly taken prisoner, even if I managed to knock half of them out. And although they knew I could kick some serious ass, they did not know what else I could do. I was thankful for that or I'd be dead by now.

The only reason why they had treated me lightly so far was because of my age and the fact that I looked like your average guy. After all, how dangerous could a nineteen year old possibly be?

Normally?

Not so much.

In my case?

Very.

But like I said, they were none the wiser to that. Their use of primitive torture methods to try and extract information from me regarding the mission that I had been caught on, was giving them no result so as of last week, their standard had been upped one scale. But I wasn't known for being stubborn for nothing, you know.

Things would have been a whole tougher for me, if they knew that though. They wouldn't have thrown Pretty-Face in the holding cell with me, for one. And they would have already moved on to the heavy torture devices by now. Maybe some mind penetration techniques or stuff.

But I stray off topic. Right now, I am in one of their interrogation cells. And while I can't really blame anyone but myself for this condition, I still pity Miss Pretty-Face. Why? Because unlike what I had initially assumed her to be, she was not part of the escort.

We had nearly made it to the outer perimeter of the building when it happened. Guards pouring in from every which direction, guns trained directly on me and Cherry. We might have had a chance to get away if we had made it past their gates but sadly we were still at a distance of ten feet from them.

So close yet so far away.

But funnily enough what they demanded was for me to step away from the princess and kneel on the ground.

Yeah.

Surprising isn't it?

For a couple of seconds I could only blink at them in surprise. Princess? What princess?

And then my gaze fell on Cherry. Her face was ashen, her eyes wide with fear.

_She_ was the princess?

That girl with the mouth to put a spacer to shame, was a princess!

So, now here I was, once again, getting tortured for information that I sure as hell was not gonna share with these bastards.

"Thought you could be smart with us, eh, Wolf?" the guard grinned maliciously as he sent the whip flying again. The laser barbs interspersed into the synthetic leather made it just that much more painful. But I had withstood stuff far worse than what they were doing to me right now. They were going to have to do a lot, _lot_ worse if they really wanted to get something out of me.

"Yeah, pretty much," I panted, giving him my usual cocky grin, one that I knew irritated this man to no end.

I used to have a teacher a long while back. The guy was all for the rules and stuff. Once I had been doing something that he did not approve of and I was caught by one of the guards. I had been taken to him and I had been punished. It has been ages since I last saw that man but the one thing I remember him telling me while I was going through the basic set of drills I had been taught at the beginning of my training was, "there are three rules you should always keep in mind when doing something you know is not approved of by others. One, don't do it. Two, if you have to do it, _don't get caught._ Three, if you get caught, own up to what you did and admit truthfully."

Well, now that I think about it, the advice wouldn't be of much help to me in this situation but what the heck. Why not give it a shot if my supposed tormentor asks me the question he had been repeating like a parrot for the entire duration of my stay in this lovely resort.

"What did you break into the facility for, boy?" Wow. Is this guy a mind reader or something?

"Well, you see, the Bat lord is actually my evil uncle who stole my body and planted the soul of one of his cronies in it after he had murdered my parents so that he could take over the kingdom via the puppet he had created. I just broke in to search for a way to locate that body and find a spell to restore my brother's soul in that body since I'm currently occupying _his_ body and his own soul is trapped in another body. Frankly speaking though, I just don't like the way your boss is running things nowadays. You jailers just don't have any idea that even the prisons have to be cleaned everyone in a while. Talk about living like Marusian pigs."

I swear the guy was gaping at me for almost ten minutes before his puny brain registered what I had said. With an infuriated snarl, he punched me in the gut.

Ungh! Guess me calling them pigs didn't sit too well with him. Maybe all that I had said before that wasn't really all that believable either.

Hmm… the next time I see my sensei, I _have_ to tell him that his advice isn't very helpful. Especially the whole owning up to what you are doing part. But I guess I should have listened to him and shouldn't have gotten caught in the first place.

And well, I kind of brought this all on myself when I let them capture me the second time.

But it wasn't because of the guns that I surrendered just so you know. Maybe if I had been alone I might have been able to make it out but with Pretty-Face princess to worry about, there wasn't much I could do. I mean sure, I had seen her fight her way through the hordes of the guards blocking our path as we broke out but while she may be a decent fighter, she was nowhere near the level needed to outrun bullets.

By the time the _session_ ended I knew that my interrogator was more than just plain pissed. The fact that I was a little worse for the wear seeing as I had to be dragged back to the holding cell was more than enough proof of that fact.

But it was nothing a little bit of healing magic couldn't take care of. Like I said before, I was a pretty fast healer.

"I know I'm handsome but you don't have to gawk so openly, Sweetheart," I grinned at her as I wiped the blood from my lip and half dragged, half stumbled back to the bunk bed.

"I was about to offer you some help on dealing with those wounds unless you wish to die from blood loss," she answered coldly, "but now I think I'll just let you be."

"Die from blood loss?" I barked with a laugh that sounded harsh to even my own years. "Darling, that wouldn't be such a bad thing but rest assured, those fuckers made sure that something like that doesn't happen."

"Stop using terms of endearment like you and I have been friends for a long time, Wolf." A little bit frostier than that and I'm sure she would be able to freeze this whole cell just by words alone.

"Sure thing, Princess," I shrugged carelessly as I turned on my side, facing the wall as I tried to ignore the sting of the wounds I had received. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on letting my magic heal me but like the numerous other times I had tried to do that in this cell, healing proved to be very difficult.

They had some sort of magic repelling charms or something cast over this place, the most that I could do was lessen the pain to a dull throb. But, hey, anything is better than nothing, right?

"What did you mean when you said they made sure you wouldn't die?" She asked after fifteen minutes, not that I had any means of telling that accurately.

"Illegal, experimental drugs." I broke out of my self induced trance and answered so casually I might as well have been discussing that the sky is blue. "Hurts like a bitch though." I added, after a while. "We're not here as prisoners of war alone. We're something that those mad scientists like to call test subjects."

I did not bother to turn around and see the reaction on her face when I gave this information. Why? Because I really didn't care.

_**A/N: Questions? Comments? Any suggestions? Feel free to let me know. In other words…**_

_**REVIEW!**_

_**That is all for now. **_

_**Till next time**_

_**-Nims**_


	4. Knight in the Shining Armor

_**A/N: Sorry for the late update guys. I tried to put up the chapters last night but the server was down. And I was feeling so tired last night, I couldn't really wait for it to work to put up the chapters. My grandmother had a heart attack earlier this week and she was hospitalized and I was busy taking care of her. Thankfully she is stable now and she got discharged today! So yeah, I'm in a mood for celebration. Which is why I will be putting up new chapters for FOUR fics! Isn't that awesome?**_

_**Now please without further ado, go ahead and enjoy!**_

_**Don't forget to review. ;)**_

It was almost a week later, four days since Cherry had been taken to a different part of the prison, once again, leaving me alone in my cell that it happened.

I was lounging lazily on the bed, humming so carelessly, I might as well have been on a vacation when I heard shouts of alarm from down the hall. Followed closely by cries of pain and the slashing sound of a sword.

I cracked an eye open to glance at the barred doorway.

"About damn time," I chuckled softly before closing my eyes. Thirty seconds later, I heard the force field fizzle out of existence closely followed by the hiss of laser beams as they retracted.

"Oye Wolf, get off your lazy ass," I heard a familiar voice order, but it had been a couple of months since I had heard him. "We gotta go."

"Finally remembered about me?" I grinned as I flipped to my feet, my face brightening at the sight of the red-haired man and the dark brown wolf with a bloody muzzle following at his heels.

The wolf padded into the cell, its black nose twitching as it sniffed the air. A pair of intelligent amber eyes looked at me in question and all I could do in response was casually shrug. It let out a small whine, nuzzling my slightly injured right leg.

"It's just a little scrape, Syao," I patted its head but before I could say anything else, my red-haired friend's voice cut in. "you guys can have your reunion later. They must have heard the commotion so let's move."

Without another word, we were out in the small hallway racing through the twisting maze of corridors.

"Guess who else is supposed to be a prisoner here," Ryouh asked as he spun around and sliced a guard with his sword.

"A princess?" I grunted flipping one of the guards and stabbing him with his own sword.

"So you heard?" I could hear the grin in Ryouh's voice. "She's supposed to be a beauty. That Princess Sakura."

"She went by the name of Cherry around here till she was exposed." I replied casually, ducking under an incoming punch to my head. "I shared my cell with her for a while." I retaliated by throwing out my leg in high kick.

"Oh?" Ryouh punched the last guard in the face, effectively knocking the latter out he turned around to face me. "I've heard Bat wants to marry her off to his son in exchange for sparing her brother's life."

"She has a brother?" I asked in surprise, beginning the jog once again as all around us sirens blared.

"Yeah, it's a shame though." Ryouh answered racing towards the exit, "The bastard's going to kill him anyways so that he can gain control over Clow."

Clow.

Pretty Face was the princess of Clow?

Shit!

"Wait." I called, spinning on my heels as I began running back towards the cells.

"Wolf! What the hell man?" I heard Ryouh exclaim in annoyance as he followed. Syao was not far behind, though I knew he was equally displeased by my behavior. But screw that. Pretty Face is the princess of Clow. Damn it. Why hadn't he mentioned that earlier?

"I was thinking maybe we ought to crash dear old Batty's wedding plan and rescue the damsel," I grinned mischievously as my red-haired friend drew up beside me.

"You really hate the guy, don't you," It wasn't a question since he already knew the answer to that, so I didn't bother to reply, masking my inner turmoil with a feral grin.

"You checked the layout of this place, am I correct?" I questioned him.

"What do you take me for?" he exclaimed, "an idiot?"

"Wait. Don't answer that." He added with a shake of his head as he flipped over an armed guard and struck him at the base of his neck. The guy dropped like a stone and didn't get up. Well, with a broken neck, I didn't expect him to. "Of course I did."

"Then lead the way O knight in the shining armor." I grinned at him, casually stepping aside to let Syao deal with one of Bat's cronies coming at me.

"Ha ha ha and ha," he responded dryly before running ahead to a narrow corridor. Seriously. What sort of an idiot designed this place? The corridors keep on tightening and narrowing as we move further and further inside. "This way." He called over his shoulder.

-0-

Her arms had been chained to the wall behind her and from the state of her torn clothes, I knew she had been given a pretty rough time. Well with that pretty face of hers, I had a fair idea of what exactly that might have included.

Dull green eyes looked up at me as I entered her cell and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from cursing that butt-chinned bastard to the deepest pits of hell in the foulest of ways. The cursing could wait a while. Freeing Pretty Face was my priority for now.

As I moved towards her, I could help but notice it. She was a picture of utter hopelessness and despair. I had caught a glimpse of terror lurking in her lifeless orbs before a relieved sigh escaped her bruised, split lips as she let her head hang over her shoulders. Her right cheek was swollen as though someone with a heavy hand had slapped her. I could see the purple bruise like marks all over her neck but I hoped that it had not been any worse than that.

"Ready to break out once again, Pretty Face?" I said in my usual cocky tone and was actually relieved to hear her growl in response. I knew she hated it when I called her that and I was glad that that bastard's son had not been able to completely strip her of her fiery nature, yet.

"Syao, found those keys yet?" I called over my shoulder. A second later, the wolf appeared at my side, keys in his mouth.

"Hurry the hell up, Wolf," Ryouh shouted from the corridor outside as Syao ran back outside to help him hold off the guards.

Wordlessly, I moved to her side and quickly unlocked the manacles from around her wrists.

A scene of utter chaos met my eyes as we ran through the doorway, with Cherry or rather Princess Sakura at my heels. She let loose a volley of attacks as soon as she spotted the men in the dark uniforms, bearing the red symbol of a bat on one shoulder.

"Hmm… she's a feisty one," Ryouh commented as he flipped to my side, thrusting his sword at a guard who was trying to behead the former with his sharp claw-like gloves.

"You got that right," I laughed, spinning around and kicking a guard trying to catch me unaware. The satisfying crack that sounded as he hit the wall and didn't get up told me that I had successfully managed to break his neck. Syao was busy ripping out throats of our opponents somewhere nearby. Quickly we made our way back towards the entrance where no doubt a whole lot more guards had gathered to stop us.

As the four of us broke out into the lobby-like area of the main building, I was proven correct. For a second, everyone stood still, staring at their opponents before it exploded in gunfire. I ducked behind a table, feeling rather seeing the others do the same.

"Any more bright ideas?" Ryouh questioned from his spot behind a nearby counter. What the hell they might need the counter for, I didn't know and nor did I care. Right now, I had a lot more to worry about than some conveniently placed hiding spots to save us from the volley of bullets being fired our way.

"Oh yeah!" I smirked, clapping my hands together to feel the magic build up between my palms. A sword materialized in the space between them as I drew my hands apart. As the magical light faded away, I nodded my head at Syao before swinging up over the table and screaming out my favorite spell.

"Kashin shourai!" a jet of flame erupted from the blade of my sword as I sliced it through the air, cutting down my opponents and bullets alike. Beside me, Syao's body was bristling with energy as lightening charged the air around him.

"Let's do this bro!" and with that we were off.

Ryouh and Cherry joined us as more guard poured in from various corridors, trying to block our path to freedom. But they were no match for the four of us. Cherry took us by surprise when she too murmured a spell and a pair of identical short swords appeared in her hands in a flurry of pink colored petals.

Hmm… So she knew how to fight.

_**A/N: So what do you think will happen next? Will they be able to make it out this time? Or will they all get caught again?**_


	5. Drowning out your Sorrows

_**A/N: Hey everyone! Guess what?**_

_**I turned twenty one today! :D**_

_**So as a treat to all my faithful readers, I'm gonna update today instead of on Saturday. **_

_**Enjoy! Don't forget to review!**_

"About time you got your lazy ass back here, Ryouh," I heard a female voice exclaim as we approached the ship that he had used to sneak into Bat's territory. I frowned at my red-haired friend. The woman that had spoken was perched atop an outcropping in the cliff face a few feet above us. She was definitely not Ryouh's girlfriend, Yuzuriha. I could tell as much from a mere glance.

"She's the owner of the ship." He told me, noticing the look on my face as he opened the hatch to the ship and stepped aside to let Cherry walk in first. "Her name is Eva, and she is one heck of a flier. She's actually pretty good at tracking people."

"Thanks a lot for the compliments," I noticed that she had short, spiky hair, the same color as Ryouh's, when she jumped off of a rocky ledge and landed gracefully on her feet. She appeared to be in her early twenties, maybe no older than twenty one, but man, she was hot. She gave me a playful wink as she caught me staring at her but then she turned her attention towards Ryouh, ruffling his hair and causing him to yelp indignantly.

"What is it with women and ruffling my hair?" my redheaded friend complained with a scowl but Eva just laughed at him.

"It's simple. Really," she explained retracting her hand as Ryouh struggled to style his hair back into their previous messiness. I really don't see what difference it made whether she mussed up his hair or not. They were always like that. "Messy hair looks cute on you."

"Yugh! Guys don't do _cute, _Eva," He grumbled as the woman with soft grey eyes turned and began ascending the plank. "Time to get going boys."

Ryouh gave me a knowing look as I watched her sashaying behind disappear inside before he rolled his eyes and began climbing the plank, side by side with me.

"She's already taken, dude." He told me as Syao moved a couple of steps ahead of us.

"That's too bad," I answered with a casual shrug, "but then again, there's always Pretty Face."

"Is that all you ever think about?" he threw his hands up in exasperation as he stopped walking.

"I'm a guy." I said simply and I could almost picture Syao roll his eyes at that. "Plus I was a captive for almost a month. You ever tried getting tortured by smelly, greasy men for that long?"

"Point taken," he nodded, looking a bit sheepish as we resumed our walk. "But I'm telling you man, get a girlfriend or something."

"And miss out on all the fun, like someone I know?" I teased him with a grin. It felt so good to be out of that place.

"Hey, for your information Yuzuriha is a wonderful girlfriend." He said indignantly before his cry of indignation turned into a horrified groan. "Speaking of girlfriends, she is so going to have my head for running off like that."

"Running off?"

"To come get you," he explained, "so that makes it your fault which means you will have to suffer with me."

"A lecture from Yuzuriha?" I cocked a brow at him as the hatch began to close behind us, "Sorry dude," I turned my back to him, placing my hand behind my head in a careless manner as I strode forward, "You're on your own."

I waited for his usual whiny response but all I heard was a choked sound.

"What's wrong?" I turned around to look at him, a lazy smirk on my lips as I looked at him. "Cat got your…"

His surprised green eyes met mine before moving down to look at his chest. I followed his gaze and felt myself pale as crimson, blossomed out from a point close to his heart, staining his shirt as blood trickled from the side of his mouth.

"Shit!" I exclaimed as I rushed towards him, catching his falling body as his legs gave out underneath him. I could distantly hear the clang of bullets as they struck the metal but my horrified gaze was fixed on the ashen face of my best friend.

"Syaoron…" He drew in a struggled breath, hazy eyes trying to focus on me but failing to do so since they constantly kept on rolling to the back of his head. "Damn it! Ryouh, stay with me!" I desperately looked around for some sort of medical kit, even though the minute I had seen the blood I knew there was nothing I could do.

"Hold on," I heard the Eva's voice on the intercom as the engines powered up and the ship lifted off. "We've got company."

I felt my limbs grow cold with dread as Ryouh's pulse dropped and his breathing slowed. "Shit. Shit. Shit!" I cursed under my breath, still searching for that medical kit while Syao whined softly next to me as he nuzzled Ryouh's hand. My eyes however were fixed on the latter's unmoving chest.

-0-

"Damn…" I hissed, carelessly slamming the mug on the filthy counter as I motioned for the barman to get me another shot. Syao whimpered softly as he placed his head in my lap but I ignored him. "It's all my fault." I bit out, downing the mug placed before me in one gulp, not even registering its foul taste as it burned my throat.

I could still hear Yuzuriha's gasp of shock when I had shown up at her door with Ryouh's body. She didn't have to say anything to me as I had placed his limp form on the couch in her living room. The tears in those accusing eyes had been enough to let me know who was responsible for his death.

"I always manage to screw up everything, don't I Syao?" I grabbed another mug, this one from the guy sitting next to me who had just gotten his refilled. He began to protest but my glower was enough to shut him up, "How many lives have I ruined by now. That's the fourth, fifth… hmm… I can't even remember how many lives I've destroyed. There's mother, father, sensei… you… Ryouh and Yuzuriha… I think I'm still missing someone…" I mumbled thoughtfully as I shook my empty mug in the air to indicate for the bartender to fill it up again.

"You should stop," the man advised me carelessly as he refilled the container in my hand. I gave a bitter laugh in response. "You don't look like the sort of guy who would mind a little drunken hassle in his bar." I raised the mug to my lips, "no one here does." And I drank some more.

With a casual shrug, he replaced my empty mug with another filled one.

"Don't blame me if you get yourself mugged in that state."

"Wouldn't mind if someone killed me…" I replied carelessly, "Murdered my closest friend a few hours ago."

That probably shut him up since the guy didn't bother me anymore, dutifully refilling the container in my hand whenever I asked for it.

"Why do you stick by my side? Huh, Syaoran?" I looked at the amber-eyed wolf resting its head in my lap. "I destroyed your life too, didn't I?"

He only whined in response but then again, I couldn't really expect him to answer me anyways. Not in that form at least.

"…I'm the worst thing that could have ever happened to anyone."

_**A/N: So they managed to escape but not without suffering a heavy loss. Ryouh is dead. I know. I know. I'm a horrible person. But this was needed to set the things in motion. **_

_**Anyhow, what do you think is going to happen next? What will Wolf do next? What became of Cherry? What happened in Wolf's past to make him think he is the worst thing that could happen to anyone?**_

_**I'd love to hear your guesses. I have the plot worked out in my head (and some of it even written out;) ) but hearing what my readers think is always wonderful. So don't hesitate and click on that button down there. You know you want to.**_


	6. Drink, Drank Drunk?

_**A/N: A lot of you guys said you were missing Cherry so here she is. Along with Wolf! *grins* since this fic **_**is**_** told in his POV I can't not include him so yeah, expect to see lot of him. Oh and be prepared for some shocking discoveries and well… I'll just let you guys read and find out.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

Stumbling a little, I slammed the door shut behind me, effectively shutting Syaoran outside my bedroom as I staggered towards my bed, feeling the world spin all around me.

I shrugged out of my jacket, dropping it in a heap on the floor.

"Wolf?" a sleepy voice called out my name, or rather the name I preferred to go by. But not today.

"Syaoron." I replied, vaguely wondering why my words sounded so slurred.

"What?"

"That's my name," I said, still moving towards the bed which I could now tell was occupied. Moonlight was streaming in through the parted curtains and I could make out a pair of doe-like emerald eyes staring at me. "You're eyes are green." I chuckled not knowing why that sounded so funny to me.

"You're drunk." She said, shuffling back in bed.

"Drunk?" I repeated. Was I really? No. I wasn't. But I would have liked it very much. Getting drunk. Hmm… That sounded nice. Forgetting all my troubles like…

Like…

Wait. What was bothering me again?

"Yeah. And you should probably leave." She replied, eyes narrowing but somehow, that made her look even more attractive than she already was.

"Wolf, you should-" she started as I climbed onto the bed.

Hmm… A nice comfortable bed. How long had it been since I had last slept in one?

"Syaoron," I cut in whatever it was that she wanted to say. "Please, call me that." I didn't want to be called by the name my best friend had bestowed upon me.

"Alright, Syaoron," she said, making me look at her face. Her big, green eyes staring at me, her long hair mussed by sleep.

I could see twin streaks of silver on her cheeks. I reached out with one hand to touch her right cheek and my fingers came off as wet. Had she been crying?

Why? What reason did she have to shed those tears?

Shouldn't I be the one crying? I had done something extremely horrible so…

"Why are you crying?" I whispered, inching closer to her face so that I could gaze into her eyes.

"I-I…" I heard her answer but her voice was so distant. My gaze lowered to her mouth and I could see her lips move.

I couldn't understand a word of what she said but I knew I didn't want her to talk. I didn't want to hear what she had to say. So I did the first thing that came to my mind to shut her up.

She tasted of cherries. And a little bit like blood. Probably from the split in her lip. Her hair felt really soft beneath my fingers but I slid my hand lower towards her neck, liking the way her skin felt. Smooth. And soft. Like silk.

"Wolf, stop it." She tried to push me away but I only moved my head to reclaim her lips.

"My name is Syaoron." I growled at her once before going back to what I was doing. I did not know why I was doing it but I didn't want to stop. I wanted more. I needed more than just this. Some part of my conscience told me that I was no better than those bastards back at that prison but I shoved it away. My hands slid lower as she squirmed beneath me.

"Wolf… ugh! No. Stop it…" Tiny hands unsuccessfully tried to put some distance between us but I simply grabbed both her wrists with my left hand and pinned them above her head. "You're drunk. You don't want to do this."

"Don't I?" I chuckled, liking the way her whole body stiffened at the sound of my voice as I stared into her eyes. Such a pretty shade of green. I had always liked that color. "I know exactly what I want. And it's a lot more than this."

"No! Get away from me!" she struggled as I let my other hand roam over the smooth, satiny texture of her skin.

"Shut up!" I growled angrily, narrowing my eyes in a harsh glare, "You're annoying me." and with that I resumed my earlier activity.

_**Syaoron, stop it.**_

As soon as I heard that voice in my head a sharp spike of pain shot through my heart and I pulled back with a startled gasp. I found it harder to draw a breath as invisible claws tore at my chest, ripping it apart, bit by tiny bit. Letting go of her I tried to clutch at the source of my pain, drawing short, rapid gasps as the world spun and twisted all around me, my vision clouding over and darkening at the edges.

I slumped on top of her soft and warm body as my heart struggled to beat inside my chest. Everything began to grow cold, like it was freezing as my body began to grow numb, yet the tearing pain in my chest subsisted.

I could hear Pretty Face calling my name but all I could think of was,_ It's Syaoron, damn it!_ Then, I knew no more as I was consumed by darkness and my heart gave one weak thump before stopping completely.

-0-

A pair of amber eyes hovered above my face as I opened my eyes. The world still spun and rocked all around me but I knew I wasn't in my room anymore. The endless sky above me, visible beyond the face that was so identical to my own it was like looking at a mirror, was the shade of a dark greenish black, translucent yet transparent and opaque at the same time.

Beneath me, even though I had not looked, I knew the ground would be the exactly the same. Everything in this dimension was.

"Why?" I growled, struggling to my feet as Syaoran stepped away from me.

"You were about to rape her." He answered in a calm voice. I might have cared about what he had just said had I been in any state to listen but as it was, I wasn't. So, I didn't listen. All I could really focus on was how calm he was.

Calm.

I felt my anger rise.

Why the fuck was he so composed and collected all the time?

"Bastard!" I snarled, trying to punch his face as it swam before my vision. I wanted him to show something else. Show anything. Anything but that sickening calm.

I missed and stumbled a couple of steps before tripping on my own feet and falling flat on my face. Not letting that stop me, I whirled around, kicking out while aiming at his stomach.

Why couldn't he express some other friggin emotions?

Why the hell was he so understanding? Why didn't he blame me for anything? Why wouldn't he-Why did he jump out of the way?

"Stand still!" I yelled, feeling tears of anger cloud my sight as I ran towards him. Once again he dodged or maybe I missed.

"You're wasted," I heard him say as I kissed the ground.

"Shut up." I growled weakly, losing my will to fight him as I struggled to get back on my feet.

"He was my friend too." He said, his messy brown hair obscuring his eyes from my sight.

"You're not the one who killed him!"

"And you are?" he looked up, a calm questioning gaze meeting mine.

"Yes."

"Syaoron-" shaking his head with a sigh, he started to speak but I cut him off. For as long as I could remember, he had always been like this. Rationalizing _each_ and _every _thing, to make me feel not guilty.

"Why?" I spat venomously, glaring at him.

"Why what?"

"Why do you treat me like this?"

"…"

"Like I'm human. I'm nothing but a filthy c-" this time he was the one who interrupted me.

"You're my brother." He answered quietly, "How else do you expect to be treated?"

"Brother…" I gave bitter laugh. "After all that I have done… you still think I'm your brother?"

"…I'll let you out of here when you've regained your senses." He said quietly.

"You know damned well that _I_ got them killed… I was the one who helped that bastard kill them! And you… you…"

"Get some rest, Syaoron." And then he vanished, leaving me alone in that dark dimension.

With a frustrated howl I sank to my knees, feeling helplessness and despair.

"Why the fuck don't you _hate_ me?" I screamed at the darkness pulling at my hair.

Nothing but silence was my reply as I doubled over, hugging myself as I let out another anguished cry, my tears finally falling.

_**A/N: So, how was it? I hope I managed to keep them in character. Especially Wolf aka Syaoron. He is really hard to write sometimes. Take the next chapter for instance. Getting him to give proper reactions or rather coming up with proper reactions is proving to be quite a pain I tell.**_


	7. Shit!

_**A/N: Only one word to say.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

With a groan, I cracked my eyes open, blinking a couple of times as a massive headache assaulted me.

"Yugh… I feel like a star cruiser ran over me," Muttering to myself I sat up in bed and looked around. Syaoran was asleep on the floor to my right, right next to…

"Oh shit!" I gasped, jumping to my feet as I realized where I was. My head throbbed and the world tilted a bit but I managed to regain my balance. As I took in the sight of the princess sleeping in a chair right next to Syaoran, memories of last night- the feel of that soft, silken skin, her exotic smell, her tear stained face and her warm squirming body beneath my own- hit me with the force of a speeding, overloaded, Maripanian freighter.

"Shit!" a pair of hazy eyes opened to look at me inquisitively while I felt blood leave my face. Cursing under my breath, I looked around to observe the room we were in and noticed that unlike what I had assumed yesterday in my drunken stupor, this was _not_ my bedroom. "Shit!"

Which meant that last night hadn't been a dream and I had barged into the guest room in our home and…

I had really tried to…

"Shit!" was all I could say.

Noticing my distress, Syaoran made a noise low in his throat and I swear it almost sounded like a laugh.

"Oh yeah, you'd laugh at that wouldn't you?" I grumbled, desperately trying to ignore the headache and nausea as I tried to figure out what to do next.

He merely gave me a look that seemed to say, _it's your own fault, you know._

"Oh shut up." I grumbled as I looked back at the sleeping beauty and noticed that she had not yet awoken.

Cherry was royalty, exiled and on the run be damned. As if everything else that I had done so far wasn't enough already, I had tried to take advantage of someone of royal blood!

I just had a knack for screwing things up even more than they already were.

… Maybe if I put her in bed and leave quietly, she might think of it all as a bad dream.

I mean, I can always deny what happened and she'd never know if it was real or not if she can't find any proof. So without hesitating for even a second, I picked her up from the chair and carefully laid her down in the bed that I had just vacated. Pulling the covers over her body, I hurried out of the room, Syaoran right at my heels.

"I hate hangovers…" I grumbled under my breath, moving down the flight of stair, each footstep sending a resounding thrum through my head, making me feel like there was gong being sounded inside my head. Wincing at the pain and the brightness of the early morning sun, I moved sluggishly into the kitchen, to browse through the cabinets in search for the some pills to get rid of this headache. "Stupid shitty sun and stupid shitty glass windows. I wonder who was the genius who first came up with the idea of windows? Why do houses even need windows? They do nothing but annoy you with the stupid, pathetic sunlight and-"

"They also tend to let in fresh air," I heard Eva's voice from behind me, making me jump and almost drop the bottle of asporan in my hand, as I whirled around to face her, "which happens to be the best cure for a hangover."

"How did you get in?" I groaned, feeling my stomach churn unpleasantly.

"The windows also serve as wonderful substitutes for doors," she grinned, making her way inside the kitchen and helping herself to the stove. "How does a strong cup of Cibertan coffee sound?" she asked helpfully, mindful of my pounding head thus keeping her voice low.

"Wonderful," I replied, slumping into a chair after I had swallowed a couple of pills. Letting my head rest against the cool counter-top I watched the red-haired female work as she brewed a pot of coffee at the same time as she made some breakfast. Loading a plate with strips cooked meat she set it infront of Syao before grabbing two mugs and filling them with inky black coffee.

"Here," she handed me the mug and moved to lean against the counter as I raised my head and looked at the murky liquid. The bitter liquid helped clear the fog seemed to clouded my thoughts and the pounding began to subside.

"So, where to next?" she asked casually as she sipped from her mug.

"What do you mean?" I quirked a brow at her.

"Well," she began, observing me over the rim of the mug, "I'm pretty sure you two are planning on heading out again very soon, right?"

"What's it to you?" I asked in somewhat natural voice as I too drank some coffee. I was suspicious of her though. Anyone would be. Ryouh was the one who had paid her for the previous trip. I hadn't really paid any mind to it earlier but… how the heck had Cherry managed to find her way to this place? And how did Eva know where I kept everything in the kitchen?

"Ryouh brought me here while we were planning to break you out of that place," she answered my unvoiced questions in a solemn tone, lowering her head to look at her feet as though they were the most interesting thing in the entire universe. "He paid me for a longer trip. I was to bring everyone here for a while to recuperate before heading to some destination that apparently only _you_ knew of."

"I see."

"Wolf, Ryouh wouldn't blame you for what happened to him." she spoke softly.

"Oh yeah?" I spat bitterly, subconsciously tightening my hold on the mug. "You didn't know him like I did. How would _you_ know?"

"How would I know?" she repeated, looking back up as she quirked a brow in my direction. Raising the mug she brought it to her lips taking a sip from it before speaking, "Are you sure you knew him, Wolf?" she asked coolly, "maybe you just led yourself into believing that you did."

"Bullshit!" I snarled, angrily slamming the mug on the counter top.

"In fact, if you asked me," she narrowed eyes at me, "I'd say you didn't know him at all."

"Shut up!" The chair clattered noisily to the floor as I stood up.

"I've known Ryouh since he was six," she said softly, sadness and pain leaking into her voice as she held my glare with a calm yet poignant expression, "If there is one thing I know about him, he's not the type of person to hold grudges."

Despite not having spotted anything even remotely accusatory in her body language, voice or expressions, I couldn't help but feel even guiltier then I already was. Not wanting to see the forgiveness that her soft grey eyes held, I looked away. A monster like me didn't deserve that look. I deserved the scorn filled, hateful glances like the ones Yuzuriha had directed at me.

"Look, I know you're upset, Wolf," she said kneeling down next to Syao, scratching his head behind the ears, "trust me. I am too. But… I know Ryouh wouldn't want us to be." Standing up she offered me a kind smile and patted me on the shoulder in a comforting gesture, making me feel even lower than the dirt beneath the cemented floor under my feet. "Lemme know when you make up your mind, 'kay? But don't take too long alright. I know I'm supposed to fly you guys around a couple thousand parsecs but I have another delivery coming up in a week's time so…" she trailed off letting me draw my own conclusions to that bit of information

Before I could answer her however, I heard the sound of footsteps descending the stairs. Judging from the way she turned her head to observe the newcomer, I understood that she had also been able to hear Pretty Face arrive.

"W-Wolf?" Pretty face choked out looking at me in bewilderment. "You're awake."

"Well it _is _morning, Pretty Face," I grinned my usual grin, not letting any of my actual guilt slip through the mask, "I hope you got enough beauty sleep."

"I-I… You…" she stuttered trying to come up with a coherent sentence and failing miserably, "Last night… What the heck happened last night?"

Hearing her say the words that I had been dreading since I woke up, the grin slid of my face as I turned around to look at Eva.

"I need you to take me and Syao to Clow," I said in a serious tone, "Think you're up for it?"

"Clow?" she repeated, looking thoughtful. "That's three galaxies away but if we leave tonight, I think I can make it back in time although… What about her?" she gestured towards Cherry who had entered the kitchen by now, her pupils slightly dilated as though in a state of shock.

"She's not my problem." I answered carelessly. "I only broke her out to spite that bastard. Now that that is accomplished, I don't have any use for her."

"I need to go to Clow too," Pretty Face said but I ignored her.

"But we can't leave tonight." I said, remembering all the things I needed to do before going there.

"Why not?" Eva questioned, glancing in the direction of the auburn-haired princess before directing her attention towards me.

"I still have some odd jobs I got to finish over here first." I replied, thinking about possible alternatives that I could choose from to find a solution to this predicament. "The earliest we can leave is the day after tomorrow."

"Hmm…" Eva frowned thoughtfully, once again glancing at Pretty Face who was trying to get my attention and failing. "That could be a problem."

"Syaoron, I'm talking to you, damn it!" she yelled angrily, and I saw Eva's eyes widen slightly in shock.

"_Y-You're_ Syaoron?" the redhead exclaimed in surprise before catching herself. "But then… You're the guy who has a bounty of-"

"Is that going to be a problem, Eva?" I interrupted whatever amount of money it was that she was going to announce.

"No need to get testy with me, Wolf." She replied evenly, overcoming her momentary shock at discovering my identity. "I have no intention of turning you in so don't even think it. In fact, now that I know who you are…" she trailed off, getting lost in thought while Cherry kept on looking from me to her and back to me. I bet being royalty and all, she definitely had no idea who I was. Otherwise she would have freaked out about it last night. Well… Maybe she might have if I had not been trying to-

"I know just what to do." Eva declared happily. "Since you have to leave in two day's time I won't be able to take you to Clow myself, but I know just the guy. What's more, he'll do it for free." Seeing my skeptic look corrected her statement. "Alright so he won't do it for free but he owes me a favor, so don't worry about it. You won't have to pay him."

"And you're sure he's trustworthy?" I questioned.

"I trust him with my life." She answered simply and left it at that. "You guys finish your work. I'll be staying at the _Chiharu's_ so you can come get me when you're done." With that and a wave, she took her leave.

"I'm coming with you." Cherry said the minute Eva was out of the door.

"No you're not, Pretty Face."I shook my head, dumping the used mug and bowl in the sink before heading back up the stairs towards my bedroom. The one situated _opposite_ to where Cherry had stayed last night.

"If you won't take me along, I'll inform the patrol about you being Syaoron." She threatened as I looked through the closet in my room for a spare change of clothes.

"You do that," I answered carelessly pulling out a clean pair of jeans and a wifebeater, "and I'll make sure they haul you back faster than you can say 'shit'."

"Fine," she huffed in irritation, "I'll just go and talk to Eva on my own. I can pay her or that other pilot twice the amount you will ever be able to pay them when we get to Clow."

"You do that." I responded in an unaffected manner as I headed towards the bathroom. I sniffed the clothes I was wearing and quickly turned the other way. They reeked of blood, sweat and alcohol. I really need a shower.

"I thought you had died last night." Her quiet words froze me in my footsteps. "When you were trying to…"

"That was the alcohol, Pretty Face," I spoke shortly.

"No! You had a heart attack!" she exclaimed, and all of a sudden as she grabbed my arm and spun me around to face her. For her tiny frame, she sure had a lot of strength. "Your heart stopped beating for almost five minutes. I tried to resuscitate you but you wouldn't wake up. I was so fuckin' scared. One minute you were trying to rape me and the next you were dead."

"So you would have preferred if I had continued trying to rape you?" I cocked a brow at her, a lazy smirk making its way on my lips.

"What? No!" she cried out, immediately letting go of me as her cheeks flamed. "Stop being a perverted ass." She grumbled, "I meant what the hell had that been about? Why did your heart stop beating? And… And why the heck are you walking around? You should be dead. A person can't just come back to life after being dead for that long. But you… you…" I could tell she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, so against my better judgment, I tossed my clothes at a nearby chair and led the hysterical princess to the bed and sat her down.

"Like I said before princess," I said, calmly, my tone betraying no emotion as I crouched before her. My eyes bore into her pretty green ones. "It was the alcohol. The drugs that I mentioned back in the cell, all of them are illegal." I wondered if I should tell her, "When I was a kid… that bastard conducted an experiment on me and Syao. The heart attack thing is a side effect of that. It's triggered by certain types of alcohol. It happens from time to time but don't worry, even if my heart stops beating like that, it won't kill me." Okay so maybe I wasn't telling her the entire truth and I had incorporated a few lies here and there. I don't need to tell her the real reason behind the heart attack. She doesn't need to know. And it's really none of her business.*

From the look on her face right now I could easily imagine what she must have been doing last night. Too bad I was not there when she pressed those soft kissable lips of hers against mine. I would have enjoyed that. A lot.

"So… So..."

"So now," I declared loudly, climbing to my feet and moving towards the chair where I had tossed my clothes earlier. "I'm going to go and wash all this grime off my body if you don't mind. You're welcome to join me if you'd like." I added, throwing a smirk over my shoulder at the girl who was still trying to come to terms with what I had just told her. "We can pick up from where we left off last night."

Yeah she was a royalty and yeah, I had tried to take advantage of her. But damn! She was sexy as hell. What with those big, green eyes of hers and those pink, pouty lips and that soft, satiny skin and that long, silky hair. Gah! I better jump in that shower before I jump her.

Laughing at her indignant reply, I closed the door behind me as I turned on the water and started adjusting its temperature. It was as I stepped under the spray of lukewarm water that I remembered something.

"Shit!" I cursed, my eyes widening in slight horror. In my haste to get away from Pretty Face earlier, I had forgotten something very important. "I locked him out of the room again."

_**A/N: So, how was it? Syaoron is being a pervert. A big one at that. Anyhow people I'd love it if you checked out 'Bust it Open' by 'Rose-Rainbow'. She wrote this humorous one-shot for 'Prisoners of War' at my request. Go and read it now. Trust me it'll have you guys rolling on the floor in laughter. ;) Here's the address .net/s/6590947/1/**_

_**Oh but before you go, don't forget to leave a review.**_

_*** This is the point where Syaoran busts the door in 'Bust it Open'. That oneshot can probably be taken as an AU to this one. Lol. That makes that one an AU to an AU. Anyhow, I think I should probably shut up now.**_


	8. A Change of Heart

_**A/N: Vacations! **_

_**Or a two week semester break.**_

_**Either ways, I have holidays and you guys are in for a treat. ;)**_

_**Enjoy!**_

With a low growl, I pushed the drunk bastard into the brick wall, my narrowed eyes glaring at him as he let out a crazed laugh.

"The boss sold that equipment to someone else when you didn't show up," he grinned, spitting out blood from his mouth as I dropped him to the ground. "We all figured the invincible Wolf had bitten the dust."

"Well I'm still alive and kickin'," I punched him in the gut, barely containing my anger. "You can tell that fucker I'm back and I want the damned stuff I asked for."

"He'll be sure to tell him that, Wolf," the red-eyed brunette standing a little ways away from us purred. I shot a look in her direction out of the corner of my eye and noticed that she was dressed in a short, crimson skirt with a fishnet shirt and a denim jacket. Her lips were painted red like her skirt and her dark hair was pulled back in a messy sort of bun.

"See to it that he does, Rae." I responded shortly, dropping the goon as I started making my way out of the building.

"Not going to stay a little longer?" she said, pouting in disappointment as she ran her blood-colored eyes all over me.

"I don't have time," I shrugged carelessly as I walked out the door, thinking about Syao who I had asked to tail Pretty-Face. Just because I was acting like a jerk to her did not mean I had forgotten that she was royalty. Which meant that if something happened to her… well let's just say things would not be pretty when this whole mess got settled. And frankly speaking, I'd rather avoid messy scenarios as much as I could.

"Oh, but surely," she walked up to me, leaning so close I could feel the warmth of her skin through my shirt, "you could spare _some_ time for lil ol' me." Her lips brushed the outer lobe of my ear and a smirk found its way on my face.

"If you can have this bastard deliver the goods in the meanwhile," I reached up beside me to pull her in front of me, my hand slipping beneath her jacket, "I suppose I can wait a while."

-0-

"No!" the sound of a shrill cry rang in my ears, and any desire that I had been feeling for the brunette currently working her lips along my jaw evaporated in less than an instant. "Lemme go!"

"Wolf?" Rae gazed at me with confusion lurking in those hooded eyes when I pushed her away. "What's wrong?"

"Someone help me!" I heard that voice cry out again.

_Let me go!_ The distant echoes of memories I had suppressed for so long began to resurface. _No! Syaoran, help me!_

"What the heck are those bastards up to?"I growled, throwing on my jacket again as I narrowed my eyes in the direction I had heard the cries originate from.

"Help! Please!" I heard the girl cry again and my own demons greedily lunged at the chance to remind me of what had happened so many years ago.

"Shut up, you bitch!" the slap echoed loudly, followed by boisterous laughter. "No one is coming to save you now."

_Shut up, you brat! That mangy mutt can't save you now._

"I think they got drunk again and caught some unsuspecting barmaid." Rae sighed in resignation, trying to pull my attention back to our previous activities. "Ignore her. They'll carry her off someplace else in a couple of minutes."

Closing my eyes, I tried to push the sounds and voices and memories far, far away from my mind, choosing instead to focus on Rae.

"S-Somebody…"

_S-Syao…_

"Damn it!" Growling in anger, I climbed to my feet. "Sorry Rae. Those bastards have completely ruined my mood." Before she could utter another word, I was out of there, following the sounds of loud, raucous laughter and weak, resigned sobs.

"Should you gentlemen be doing such a thing to a lady in broad daylight?" I drawled in a bored tone as I leaned against the wall. I looked the perfect picture of composure on the outside. Lazy, somewhat bored attitude, cool calm demeanor, smart-ass comments, but on the inside? On the inside, my mind was screaming at me to slaughter the bastards right where they stood. Torture them in ways so slow and painful, they would beg for mercy and death before I had even begun. I wanted to tear them apart till there was nothing left of them. Mutilate them in a manner-

"Come to join in, eh, Wolf?" the leader of the ring of four men sneered from his position in front of the young girl. She could not have been any older than sixteen at most, looking at me with wide, tearful brown eyes, one side of her face already swollen and bleeding, her clothes in tatters and on the ground, leaving her struggling to cover her modesty.

"Let the girl go." I said calmly, bringing my palms together in a clapping gesture but holding them together so that I was concentrating on a small summoning spell at the same time.

"Tired of Rae already, Wolf?" the man did not even twitch a muscle as he spoke to me, his partners guffawing loudly at his apparent joke. "We all thought that little slut would have had you strung around her finger a while longer."

"I will not repeat myself again, Hebi," I growled softly, narrowing my eyes at the bastard as my mind's eye flashed another leering face across my vision. "Let. The. Girl. Go."

"And if I don't?"

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance." I pulled my palms apart, my sword materializing in a blinding blue light as I rushed at the men. Those fat asses didn't stand a chance against my sudden attack, obviously not having taken my previous threats seriously enough. Not more than a couple of minutes had gone by and the world had four less pompous, fat-assed molesters to worry about.

"You okay?" I asked the wide-eyed girl as I resealed my sword and shrugged off my jacket to cover her. She flinched when I approached her, but seeing that I meant her no harm, she nodded enthusiastically.

"Th-thank you!" she whispered as her bloodshot eyes began spilling over once again. "Thank you so much!"

"Rae, could you get her something to wear?" I asked, not needing to look over my shoulder to notice the red-eyed woman, "and maybe escort her back to the workers district? I'll come by tomorrow to pick up the package."

"Of course." She sighed, moving past me as she approached the girl with a comforting smile plastered on her lips, "you owe me, though, keep that in mind." She shot a heated look in my direction before turning her attention back to the sobbing girl. "Hey there. I'm Meilin Rae." I heard her tell the girl, "What's your name?"

"K-Kyouko." The girl sniffled weakly.

"Well then, Kyouko, how about we get you cleaned up a little bit, hmm?" knowing that Kyouko would be safe with Rae, I took my leave.

I walked about aimlessly for a little while before I picked up on Syao's signature at a nearby bar which doubled as a dance club. Digging around in my pockets for a lighter, I brought the cigarette to my teeth, clamping down lightly on it to keep it from falling out. Lighting it up, I took in a deep drag, letting the smoke settle my nerves as the memories hit me once again.

_No! Let go of me!_

_No one is coming, brat._

_Syao! Help me!_

_The mangy mutt won't save you._

_Syaoran!_

_Mangy mutt…_

_Mangy mutt…_

_Mangy-_

"-you something?"

"Huh?" I murmured intelligently, looking around me to notice I was sitting at the counter of the bar. Loud music was blaring on all sides and I could already feel my headache from earlier in the morning return with a vengeance.

"I said 'can I get you something,' cutie?" the redheaded bargirl winked at me as she wiped a mug in her hand with a rag. She had small, pixie-like features, twinkling blue eyes and pouty, pink lips. The view her low-cut shirt offered wasn't bad either, but with what had happened not a short while ago, I was in no mood for flirting or pursuing the little minx.

"One shot." I answered shortly as I scanned the crowd under the flashing lights for something auburn or chestnut.

"Here you go," she slid the small crystal glass next to me not half a minute later. "Anything else I could interest you in?"

"I'll let you know if you do." I said before downing the contents of the glass in one go.

Slamming it back on the counter, I made my way through the crowds, having spotted what I had been looking for.

Syao was standing off to one side, his amber eyes scanning the crowd fixedly, not moving from one particular spot, even when I stepped right next to him.

"Sorry about getting you stuck on babysitting duty, Syao."I apologized, following the direction of his gaze and almost laughing at the sight that met my eyes. Pretty face was dressed in one of my old T-shirts and pants, the clothes a little big for her lithe frame, though I couldn't deny the fact that the sight she presented wasn't looking attractive. She was dancing up close to this other guy who had golden blond hair and grey eyes… I think. I couldn't exactly tell the color of the guy's eyes from this distance.

"The ass sold our stuff to some other bastard because he thought I was dead." I told him, my eyes following the way Pretty-Face was moving in the crowd as the song drew closer to the end. "The earliest possible that we can leave at would be tomorrow evening."

"I think I'm gonna go dance for a bit, alright, Syao?" I smirked, my eyes signaling that pretty minx of a barmaid to follow me to the floor.

"Name's Lila." She said, her hips swaying to the beat as I pulled her into the crowd, somehow ending up close to Pretty-Face and her grey-eyed partner. Yup, the guy had grey eyes.

"Wolf." I grinned, pulling her closer to me as she placed her arms around my neck.

We danced for quite a while and Lila, I discovered, was quite a talented dancer. But then her break ended and she had to go resume her job at the counter.

"I'll see you around?" she asked, sounding rather reluctant to leave.

"If you're lucky." I shot her a sly wink before turning my attention to a certain jade-eyed royalty.

"Sorry, man, this next dance is mine," I commented, pulling Pretty-Face out of the clutches of her current partner and planting her in front of me.

"You think you're so funny, eh Wolf?" she rolled her eyes in an attempt to show her annoyance but she did not try to pull away, so it wasn't all that convincing.

"I think I'm adorable." _**(A/N: I know. I know. I totally ripped that off of Dean but seriously, don't you agree? And how can I **_**not**_** use it here?)**_

Pretty-Face danced somewhat stiffly as though unsure of what to do.

"Loosen up a little bit, Dollface," I laughed, noticing the nervous look in her eyes. She had seemed to be doing just fine when she had been dancing with that other guy. What made her coil up now, all of a sudden? "You're not going to impress me by playing the part of the innocent little virgin. Grind those hips a bit more."

I saw a brief look a surprise flash in her eyes before they barred off all emotion as she huffed in annoyance, "I'm not trying to impress you, Wolf. _You're_ the one who pulled me away from my dance partner."

"Of course I did." I replied skeptically.

"You did." She insisted, trying to pull away from me, but I tightened my grip around her waist, turning her around while doing so, so that her back faced me now.

"Lean back and relax a little," I breathed into her ear, inhaling the intoxicating scent of cherry blossoms that seemed to saturate the very air around her. She nodded dazedly, obeying my command and sending a pleasant shiver down my spine at the resulting contact. "Good. Now try and start swaying like before."

I barely suppressed a chuckle when she started pulling away from me with a nod.

"Now hold on there, Pretty-Face," I said, drawing her close to me once again, "stop trying to run away from me. Lean back and sway." I whispered against her ear, "Oh, and try to keep the contact, too."

For a second I thought she would stomp on my foot or something, she certainly looked like she had half a mind to do just that. But then the moment passed and she gave me a small nod, following my instructions although there was still a little bit of distance between our bodies. And from the looks on her face, I could tell it was taking quite an effort for her to do so instead of relaxing against me like any normal girl would have done.

"Oh come _on,_ Sweetheart," I laughed lightly, "lean back. Get _comfortable."_

Heaving a sigh, she finally gave in, letting the contours of her petite frame press up against mine, letting the music take control. Slowly my hands strayed from their original spot on her waist, down to her thighs once I sure that she wasn't going to run away. Her sweet, fruity smell filled up my breath every single time I inhaled, filling up my senses and clouding up my mind.

"Good girl. Now lean back a bit more." I could feel my breath tickle her skin as I spoke. I more like felt her, rather than _saw,_ nod her head as she relaxed further. My thoughts drifted back to last night when I had first tasted her. I wondered if her skin would taste the same, with the sweet scent of fruits clinging to her very soul, or would it be different now?

Knowing that I had to know, I slid out my tongue and let it touch the back of her neck, sliding across the silky expanse of her skin exposed due to the large neckline of one of my shirts that she was currently wearing. "Still think you're up for that trip to Clow?" I whispered against the shell of her ear. Immediately, as though stung by a thousand bolts of lightning, she jumped away from me, turning to look at me with wide, green eyes.

"W-what?" she gasped, cheeks flushed and hair in a complete disarray.

I grinned internally. _I definitely like the sight._

"Tomorrow evening, five p.m."

Giving her a smirk, I turned on my heels and took my leave.

_**A/N: What do you guys think? I hope it was enjoyable despite the rather dark things that I have hinted at here. I'm not going to change the rating for this fic because like my Beta pointed out, I am merely hinting at stuff happening so I'm gonna be posting a warning here just this once. **_

_**This fic will most definitely include things of the nature mentioned in this chapter, never in detail or showing the actual acts themselves but there will be hints and mentions all the way so if that sort of stuff is not your cup of tea, please turn away now. **_

_**Now that that is out of the way, let's get back to the story itself. **_

_**Wolf has had a change of heart. Cherry is coming along for the trip. Wonder who the mysterious pilot might be that Eva is planning on dragging them off to. You'll all get to find out in the next chapter so stay tuned. ;)**_

_**Oh and review if you agree with Wolf and think that cloney as well R! Syaoran are absolutely adorable. **_

_**That's it for now. See you guys next time. **_

_**Ciao!**_


	9. Phantoms of the Past

_**A/N: I finally managed to figure out how to end this chapter. This thing had been lying around in my Harddrive for quite a looooong time but I was stumped on how to end it. I didn't want to do a crappy job with it since that is something I personally hate and I'm sure none of you readers would have liked it either.**_

_**So anyhow, I'd recommend reading up a little bit of the last chapter again in case you have forgotten what was going on. That'll probably also make what comes next sound funnier (or so I like to think ^_^; )**_

_**A small warning, the second half of the chapter (the part in italics which is a dream) contains a few implied things that lie somewhere on the border of the T and M rating so you've all been warned. **_**Skip over it!**_** If that sort of thing is not exactly your cup of tea. You've been warned so read that part at your own risk.**_

_**Now without further ado.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

"You have got to be kidding me." Pretty-Face exclaimed in an exasperated tone as I strolled down to the port where Eva's ship was. "_This_ is what made you wait for two days?"

"This stuff is extra-rare Pretty-Face." I shook the bag containing the stuff I had just gotten from my dealer not half an hour ago, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get your hands on some of it?"

"It's not _that_ rare." She rolled her eyes.

"Not for you, obviously," I replied simply, "you're one of the rich, stuck-up snobs. You got all the money in the world. What I meant to say was that it's us commoners who can't get their hands on any."

"I am _not_ a stuck-up snob." She seethed, her face turning an interesting shade of red and I couldn't help but think that she looked quite cute. Before I could answer however, Eva decided to contribute her two cents to the conversation as she popped up from my left.

"I gotta agree with Wolf on the last bit," she grinned cheekily, grabbing the bag from my hand and peering inside, "Damn," she whistled in appreciation, holding one of the pieces to the fading sky to get a better look, "this stuff is expensive. How'd you manage to land yourself a whole bag? I heard about a guy killed to get half as much."

"Can't give away my trade secrets, babe," I winked slipping the bag from her hand, "but I'll let you have one if…" I trailed off giving her a suggestive look that had Pretty Face huffing in annoyance behind me.

"I'm flattered, Wolf. You're hot, no denying that," she grinned, as she placed the bar in the front pocket of my jacket, patting it once, "but you got nothing on Phoenix." She finished with a teasing smile and I swear Syao started making a low sound in his throat that was the wolf equivalent for laughter.

"Your loss," I shrugged nonchalantly turning my grin towards the princess instead as I ignored my idiot brother for the time being. "What about you Pretty Face? Want a piece?"

"What the heck do you take me for?" she responded indignantly as she marched up the ramp and inside the ship, "I wouldn't have climbed into your bed even if my life depended on it, why the heck would I do it for a bar of chocolate?"

"It not just chocolate!" Eva laughed at her response as she kneeled down beside Syao to ruffle his coat. I rolled my eyes at the smug _hey-look-she-paying-more-attention-to-me-than-you _look he shot in my direction before I turned around and decided to follow Cherry inside. Riling her up for no reason at all was quite refreshing. And the fact that she looked cute with her cheeks flaming red and her eyes flashing green was just an added bonus. "It's _Chocolate, _Pretty Face, one of the rarest, most exquisite delicacies ever to come in existence. Are you sure you don't want any? You don't know what you'll be missing out on."

"My name is Cherry," she hissed acidly as she spun around all of a sudden. God knows where she drew the blades from but in a flash she had me backed up into the metal wall, pressing one knife against my jugular and the other against a rather important part of my body, "if you know what's good for you, you will keep your damn perverted remarks to yourself. I am nothing like the girls you pick up from the streets every week, so leave me the hell alone, understand?"

Seeing as how she was actually applying pressure on the lower knife and could actually do some serious damage, I should have just nodded and let her be. But that would have made the rest of the journey far too boring for me. So I merely flashed her a wolfish grin before flipping our positions in a move so fast she barely had time to register as I knocked the knives away from her hands.

"I know you're nothing like them. You're feistier," I said as I pinned her to the wall before pressing my lips against hers, silencing any protests she might have voiced. She struggled at first but when it was clear that I was not going to relent, she melted into the kiss, her lithe frame shifting between me and the wall as she let out a small noise. I was enjoying myself far too much to actually pay any attention to what she was planning on doing before it was too late.

"Fuck!" I cried, immediately letting her go in favor of nursing my injury. Cherry stepped away from me, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she sent a venomous glare in my direction.

"Rest assured," she said as she retrieved her knives, "I will do a lot more than just kick you the next time you try something like that. I'm warning you one last time, Wolf," she said over her shoulder as she stopped behind me, "stay away from me."

Syao and Eva arrived at that particular instant, stopping dead in their tracks as their eyes darted between Pretty Face and me. Everything stilled for a fraction of a second before those two started howling in laughter. Or well… Eva did at least.

But I knew Syao was probably rolling on the floor in laughter in his mind.

"Eva, do you mind if I come to the front with you?" Cherry asked her politely, to which the redhead could only nod as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She cracked up again the minute she cast a look on my pained face.

"Of course not," she said breathlessly, taking the princess's hand as she lead her to the front of the ship, the cargo door hissing shut behind us. Syao trotted over to me, nuzzling my leg though the sounds emerging from his throat were definitely amused.

"Shut it, Syao." I grumbled, walking towards one of the seats next to the porthole with a bit difficulty. Damn it. Did she have to kick so hard?

"Fasten your seatbelts kiddies," Eva announced through the intercom just as the engines rumbled and came to life. I could still hear the laughter in her voice, "We're about to take off!"

-0-

It had been a few hours since we had left _Spirit,_ the small out of the way planet that I had a hideout on. It's not that technologically advanced in comparison to a few other places that I've been to, like Piffle but it made avoiding the authorities easier while still having access to most of the tech one needed to get by these days. The black market thrived there simply because it was overlooked by majority of the authorities for the simple reason that the planet had little economic value. There weren't any precious mineral reserves there. No mines of diamonds or gold or that precious cerellium that that bastard Bat was so fond of. So all in all, it was the ideal place for me and others like me to recuperate. The bars there were great though and you could get your hands on anything if you knew where to go and who to talk to and how to make them get it for you. Lucky for me, I had picked up quite a lot of useful tricks of the trade as I had wandered around the place.

Closing my eyes, I absentmindedly began to scratch Syao behind his ears. It was one of the only things he didn't protest about. Though he never showed it and tried to pretend he was okay with it, I knew he hated being treated like an animal. He was after all a human stuck in the body of a wolf. A human who was running out of time. I needed to find a way to get his body back before this year was over. The magical seal binding his soul to his current body was weakening and if it broke completely…

Remember what I told that stupid guard back when I was being tortured in that stupid facility? Yeah, I wasn't lying. Well not much. Parts of it were true. I hadn't exactly told him everything but then again, who cares. It sounds so unbelievable as it is. Had I told him the rest of it, he might just have killed me out of sheer annoyance. And I couldn't die. Not yet anyways. I needed to set things right. Correct that horrible mistake I had made all those years ago by trusting that bastard.

"I'll make it right." I promised Syaoran as I continued scratching him. He cracked an amber eye open, regarding my lazily before nudging my hand softly with his nose as though telling me everything would turn out to be alright. I gave him a soft smile before leaning my head on the backrest, heaving a small sigh. "I'll find it."

_Thunder flashed across the sky and the rain battered against my weak, fragile body. I lay in an unmoving heap on the cold grimy ground, hugging my shivering body dressed in nothing but the tattered remains of a shirt. Every single part of my body hurt and I couldn't even summon the energy to move. The chilly wind blew over me and I curled in on myself, shivering as it beat against my naked form. I felt scared, dirty, worthless and used. Less than a month ago, I had been the part of a horrible plan. I had done something unforgivable yet Syaoran had come to my aid anyways. He had sacrificed all that he was for my sake. Yet I had given him nothing in return. I was the reason why he was stuck the way he was now. But he didn't leave my side at all. He had even tried to protect me from those men. But he was just a wolf cub. What could he have done against four greasy, fat, balding creeps?_

_My right arm was broken and I knew my ribs had cracked from the beating I had received when I had tried to fight them off. I was just an eight year old kid after all. Even if I knew how to use magic, those cerellium cuffs that they had slapped on my wrists had rendered me completely useless. My left eye was swollen shut and I could the warm blood trickling down my face even as the rain mixed with it. I was in no shape to find any shelter and I had no idea what had become of Syaoran. Those men had kicked him and thrown him into the wall where he had slid down like a lifeless doll, reminiscent of way mother and father… I just hoped he was okay. But he wouldn't be able to find me. Not in this weather. And even if he did find me, what use would it be? He couldn't help me on his own and he couldn't get anyone to help me either. I was going to die here. Alone, beaten and broken, covered in grime and my own blood and… Sobbing weakly, I tried to push myself into a sitting position only to fall down with an agonized cry when white hot pain shot through my entire being. My back felt like it was being split in two with a jag edged saw. It _hurt!

_Once again, hugging myself, I broke down as the rain continued its merciless assault on my weak body. I was such a useless, worthless mistake. I should have never come into existence. Even _he_ had said so. "I'm so sorry, Syaoran." I cried, letting my eyes close as I gave up and darkness claimed me. _

_I could see their leering faces as they stood over me, yellowed teeth glinting against their dark, sweaty skins. I could see the hunger in their beady eyes as they closed in on me. One of them gripped my arm, the one that was cuffed to the side of a dumpster. The other sneered at me, slapping me hard enough to make me fall on my knees. A surprised cry ripped through my lips as I fell, jerking my arm with enough force to almost rip it out of its socket. The third dragged me back to my feet using the scruff of my shirt's collar, making me choke when he lifted me into the air. I flailed about desperately until the last one, most probably their boss, grabbed my leg and allowed his leering grin to almost split his face in half…_

_Hot, burning hands were all over my skin, pushing, prodding and clawing at me. They were all around me, their hot disgusting breaths everywhere. My own screams were drowned out by their jeering laughter. They surrounded me, laughing, taunting, touching, feeling... Then all of a sudden there was only one. And he was shaking me. But it was too much. Too much. I couldn't take it anymore. Crying out weakly, I kicked at the remaining man, struggling to get away but failing miserably when pain made its presence known and I fell down to the ground. I scrabbled to get away, not caring as my nails pulled back, fresh blood staining the grimy floor as I began to crawl away, my feverish eyes darting all around me in fear. The others must be around here somewhere too. They were just hiding in the shadows, waiting for me to let my guard down. _

_Something soft and warm and brown streaked towards me. Crying out, I pushed away, chest heaving in terror as tears streamed down my face. With a quiet whine, the thing pressed into my leg, radiating warmth and a strange familiar sort of comfort. _

"_S-Syao…" _

_A shadow fell over me and I shrank in on myself. The stranger took off his jacket and panic shot through me. Not again! Please. Not again!_

_Golden, catlike eyes never moved from my face as the person stepped closer to me. I could only whimper as the person stood over me, my body frozen in place by fear. A gasp formed on my lips as the stranger bent over me, covering my shivering body with his jacket before stepping away._

"_It's okay, kid, I'm not going to hurt you." He smiled, brushing away his dark messy bangs that fell into his eyes. "This little fellow refused to leave me alone until I agreed to follow him. He yours?"_

_Struggling to keep my eyes open, I looked at the small, wet mass of tangled brown hair trying to snuggle my hand. "S-syaoran… you came." I smiled, my small bruised arm wrapping itself around the small cub as I passed out again. _

Something touched me on the shoulder, startling me awake. Out of reflex, before I had even opened up my eyes, I had my assaulter thrown against the wall, one of my hidden knives pressed against their jugular.

Shaking my head to clear the last vestiges of sleep from my eyes, I came upon startled jade eyes.

"Pretty Face." I breathed, immediately letting go of her, stepping back to observe her as she coughed slightly. Rubbing her throat, she turned to shoot a strange look in my direction.

Quickly turning away from her, hoping she didn't see the myriad of emotions playing across my eyes- as Ryouh always loved to point out- I coughed out an apology. "Ummm… Yeah. Sorry about that."

Syao was observing this through those silent, amber eyes of his.

"What the heck was that about?" she exploded and I was glad I had turned away when I had. It gave me some time to school my expression before turning around to face her.

"Sorry love," I shook my head, grinning cheekily at the way she huffed when I called her that, "but you really shouldn't try to wake me up like this again. You're quite lucky I woke up before I slit your pretty little throat."

"Cherry, is everything okay?" Eva's voice came over the intercom. Shooting me another annoyed glance, she moved to the device attached to the cabin wall.

"Yeah, we're just coming in a minute." She responded, pressing down on one of the panels.

"Coming where?" I asked curiously, turning my head to peer out the porthole.

"Outside of course." She answered like it was the most evident thing in the world, which now that I think about it, might have been so. After all, the sky outside was just a soft purplish orange, with the blood red sun bathing everything in its crimson glow.

As I followed her out of the ship, Syaoran padding softly right at my heels, she looked over her shoulder and grinned at my wolf companion, "We're here!"

_**A/N: I had been planning on putting this up on Friday but things got in the way and I got busy and well…. Yeah**_

_**Anyhow, you all got see a bit more of his past. Next time, we finally face the mysterious Pheonix. Take a guess at who that is. Whoever gets it right, gets a… umm… a bucket full of whatever they like!**_

_***sigh* sorry guys, I'm really not in a mood to think up anything so… please drop by and leave a review if you liked this update. And even if you didn't like it, still leave a review!**_


	10. Finally Phoenix

_**A/N: okay so I had some free time yesterday and the idea for this chapter had been playing around in my head for quite some while so I decided to type it out. Enjoy!**_

Ignoring the looks Cherry shot in my direction every few minutes, I silently followed behind Eva, trying to push the dream out of my mind. It had been so long since I had last had that dream. Why was I having it now? Was it my subconscious, trying to remind me of my duty even as I slept? I suppressed the urge to snort in disgust. As if _that_ was something I could forget.

Turning my head away from Pretty Face, I made a show of taking in the posh neighborhood we were walking through. Whistling in appreciation at the display of grandeur, I looked over at Eva, "Didn't know that Phoenix was such a rich bastard. What did he do? Rob a king?"

"He owns a chain of casinos and fight clubs all over the Osirion Belt." Eva replied nonchalantly.

"Even better." I laughed, while Pretty Face merely frowned.

"Why do you think he'd be willing to fly us all the way to Clow?" She spoke after a while. "More importantly, how can you be so sure this guy is a good enough pilot to get us in there undetected?"

"I have no idea which rock you've been living under if you haven't heard of Phoenix." Eva shook her head in bewilderment. "If there is anyone that can get you past all that security that has cropped up around the newly-converted colony of Clow, it's him. As for how I can be so sure…" She smirked as she stopped next to a pair of tall, intricately designed golden gates supported by elaborate marble pillars. A surveillance camera on the top of the right pillar swerved in our direction and I felt my fingers itching to grab the small device resting in the inner pocket of my jacket and melt its circuitry, if only to destroy any evidence of me being there. But I controlled that urge and kept my gaze fixed at Eva's back as she spoke a few foreign words to the panel embedded in the marble column. I couldn't help but grin inwardly as I saw Cherry's hands twitch slightly. So I wasn't the only one uncomfortable at having my face caught on camera. For all we knew, this camera could be linked to the Bat Lord's surveillance network.

"Relax," Eva said as the gates rolled open, "He's made quite a lot of enemies, so the camera is installed for Phoenix's own security. It's connected to a standalone network, so no one else will know you're here. Let's go." And then, without even waiting for a response, she sashayed over the threshold, head held high as though _she_ was the owner of that place. She marched us down a long gravel pathway that ended on the steps of the entrance of the mansion. Its outer design appeared sophisticated and elegant, speaking volumes of the taste of its owner while at the same time acting as a form of intimidation for those that entered that place. This man had power, and he was not afraid to show it. I had only heard about Phoenix. That guy was a legend in the underworld. His services were pricey as hell, but damn, there had never been a case when he had failed to deliver what he had. Few had ever contacted him directly, many trying to make him agree to work for them through various connections. But those that _had_talked to him had described him as a 'politely aloof and frigid man'.

The ebony doors were opened by a man dressed in a finely tailored suit, but from his stiff posture, I could tell he was a butler. The man eyed me and Cherry with thinly veiled distaste before holding the door open and stepping aside. "Mistress Eva, welcome back. Shall I inform the Master of your arrival?"

"Thanks, Wei." Eva grinned as she walked inside, "These are my clients, Wolf, Syao, and Cherry. Guys, this is Wei."

"Welcome." Wei bowed politely, the look of contempt vanishing from his features all of a sudden once we were inside, though his eyes still held loathing. I looked down at my clothes. A faded leather jacket, with a black wife beater and a pair of ripped jeans with trainers on my feet… I saw nothing wrong with my apparel. I cast a glance over at Cherry. She was still wearing the shirt I had leant her, with one end of the collar hanging partially off her shoulder. It looked kinda hot. She was wearing a pair of denim shorts underneath. I wonder where she got those, though. Noticing me observing her, she shot a questioning look at me. Grinning in response with a wink directed towards her, I tore my gaze away from her, deciding to take a look around. A plush carpet of the deepest blue, with inlaid silver designs forming a phoenix in flight covered the floor of the entrance hall. The wall to our right had floor-to-ceiling windows, with an almost blackish-blue shade of expensive curtains, displaying the well-kept lawns outside and the setting sun beyond them. Pale, gold shadows danced across the wall to my left, highlighting several of the framed paintings adorning it. "Please wait in the parlor while I inform the Master of your arrival." Wei said, ushering us towards one of the doors further down the hall.

"Is that an original piece?" Pretty Face gasped, her emerald eyes shining in wonder as she rushed towards an enormous painting adorning the wall behind a plush, cream colored sofa set. Now I felt pretty out place there, in my ripped jeans and old jacket.

"You bet," Eva grinned as she settled down on the sofa. "It took him quite a while to get his hands on it though. If I can recall correctly, he got it as payment for one of his jobs."

"Master will be with you shortly," Wei announced as he brought in a trolley with a wide assortment of exquisite, and rather foreign, delicacies. "Would you care for some tea or coffee, Mistress, Master?" He said as he set the dishes on the coffee table.

"Not at the moment, thank you." Cherry smiled at the butler.

"Master?" he turned his attention towards me after he handed a cup to Eva.

"Nah, I'm good."Sniffing slightly, the butler bowed stiffly before turning around to leave.

"Phoenix!" Eva exclaimed in what could only be described as extreme delight as the redhead jumped onto the blond man that entered through the door about five minutes later.

"Eva." He greeted her politely, hugging her briefly before letting her go. "Wei said you brought your clients here?"

"Not even so much as a'how are you, Eva?'" Eva frowned, punching him in the arm. "Is that any way to treat your fiancé?"

_Fiancé? _My thoughts raced, _Since when? She never mentioned a fiancé._

"How are you, Eva?" He grinned widely, planting a kiss on the back of her outstretched hand working his way to the inside of her wrist. "How did your trip go?"

"Stop being an idiot, Fai." Eva turned away from him, the frown still fixed on her face. "And don't talk to me. For the record, though, I'm good and I wasn't followed if that's what you meant to ask."

"Ah, but, Eva, I-"

"Don't you 'Eva' me. You have some serious explaining to do you bastard. What's this I hear about you gallivanting off with that singer, Patricia…Pramona…Polluti-"

"Primera," Phoenix corrected her with a grin.

"Yeah, her." She spat, rounding on him fiercely, "I was out there, risking my life for almost three months, and then I come back and hear that you have taken a _mistress!_ Is that all it takes?" I could see the hints of a waterworks show beginning in five… four… three… two… "I thought there was something between us. You were the one that proposed! And just when I leave, you go running to some floozy bimbo?"

"Eva," The blond was still grinning like an idiot as he grabbed the suddenly emotionally-unstable woman and hugged her fiercely. "Is there something I should know?"

"H-How did you…?" She sniffled lightly. Okay. Now I was seriously confused. Did I miss something here? Looking over at Cherry, I noticed that she had an odd, dreamy look in her eyes. What the heck was going on here?

"Your scent has changed. I could tell even before I entered the room." Taking a step away from her, but still not letting her out of his arms, the guy kissed her. Long and hard and…I couldn't help but cough to remind them of our presence.

"You two should get a room." I drawled lazily, feeling a vicious pleasure when Eva started to blush. Phoenix appraised me with a single sky-blue eye, the other eye hidden behind an eye patch. I met his gaze evenly, assessing him coolly as I leaned back in the sofa. He was tall, with shoulder-length blond hair tied in a low ponytail. Dressed in a black business suit, he was a bit on the skinny side but I could see the hints of well-developed muscles beneath his deep blue silk shirt. He wore a simple silver band of metal as a promise ring on a chain around his neck. It appeared to be a perfect copy of the one that Eva wore. I guess I really didn't have a chance with that redhead then…

"And you would be?" He finally spoke, raising a brow as he looked over at Syao.

"Wolf." I answered briefly.

"And you, Madam?" He turned to Cherry, taking Eva's hand as he led her towards the sofa opposite of mine. Eva moved to take a seat next to him but he pulled her onto his lap instead. Did he seriously have to make it that obvious? I got it. She was out of bounds for me. Doesn't mean he had to rub it in my face like that.

I wonder how he was able to tell, though. I hadn't tried to do or say anything to her ever since we came here.

"Cherry." The runaway princess smiled gently as Phoenix began to nuzzle Eva's neck. "You must be Phoenix."Was he always this _professional_ in front of his potential clients?

"So," He looked up briefly to meet my gaze, smirking as he did so. That bastard! "What can I do for you three today?"

"We need to get to Clow." Cherry spoke up before I could.

"Why not take one of the commercial ships, then?" One of his hands disappeared beneath Eva's jacket. "I heard they opened the space ports for business about a month back."

"Undetected," I grit out, turning my head away to observe the grand painting that Cherry had squealed over earlier.

"I see." His tone hardened slightly, "What makes you think I'll take you there?"

"Be nice." I heard Eva chide him with a soft giggle. "I brought them here."

"Even so," Phoenix answered coolly and I could feel his gaze burning through my skull, "I need to be sure of a few things, Eva. Why do you need to go there in such secrecy that you felt the need to acquire my skill?"

"That is something we cannot disclose. Besides, I thought it was part of your policy that you didn't ask questions."

"True," he responded evenly, "but even I need to be clear about your objectives before I take up a job."

"Do you really want Eva to take us there in her state?" Cherry interjected smoothly, interrupting me before I could say something acidic as a retort.

_What state? Her emotionally-unstable one?_

"Dealing such a dirty blow, Hime-sama," Phoenix said softly and I felt Cherry freeze up next to me. Hime-sama… I had heard that term being used before… somewhere. Hime-sama…Hime-sama… I could almost recall my languages teacher lecturing me about the importance of learning the titles in foreign languages- Princess! It meant Princess! Wait a second, how did this guy-

"W-What did you just call me?" Cherry whispered in a shaky voice.

"'Hime-sama', or am I wrong in calling you that," I turned my head back so fast I almost got a crick that would prove to be very painful…"Sakura-hime?"

_**A/N: Oh boy do I love cliffies xD **_

_**Don't you all love them too? *shot***_

_**Ahem… well anyhow, I really like the way Fai turned out in this one. I hope you were able to figure out why Eva's moods were all over the place. He knows Cherry, but Cherry doesn't seem to be able to recognize him. Wonder why that is…**_

_**Stay tuned for next time.**_

_**-Nims**_


	11. Vampires and Smug Bastards

I lay in bed, staring at the deep blue ceiling that seemed to be speckled with almost lifelike stars. I heaved a sigh as turned on my side. Sleep was a million miles away and there really wasn't much for me to do. Syao was asleep on the bed next to me. The sheets were pure silk, soft and comfortable and I was glad that he had something nice to sleep on. With the type of life we've both been leading, luxuries like this don't really come by often. Absently drumming my fingers over my crossed arm, I mulled over the events of the night.

As it turns out, Phoenix had served Cherry's father in his _youth_. The guy looked like he was twenty two for crying out loud! _What_ youth?

He had not even bothered to answer that question, choosing instead to grin that annoying grin of his that said he knew something I didn't before turning his attention back to the princess. In the end, the reason why he agreed to take us to Clow was because of Cherry. He said something along the lines of him owing to her family or something before calling his butler and telling him to set dinner for us all, which had been a rather lavish affair though Phoenix himself had not eaten much, choosing instead to sip on some blood-red wine. Once that was done, he'd asked the same butler to show us, as in Cherry, myself and Syao to the guestrooms for the night, pulling along a giggling Eva up the grand staircase, no doubt to celebrate their reunion or something.

Meh. Whatever. Eva was hot, I'd give her that much but then again, so was Cherry. Besides, I have a rule of not going after taken women. And I gotta focus on what's important. Getting Syao his body.

Oh yeah, I never did say why I'm looking for his body, did I?

No wait, I actually told part of the story to those guards back when I was captured. If he had not interfered with everything back then, _I_ would have been the one stuck as wolf, not him. But as luck would have it, he had found out about what _that_ man had been planning and come to my rescue, foolishly sealing his own fate in an act of childish selflessness. Even if he had been rather mature for his age, he had been eight at the time. I doubt if he had known he'd be stuck like this for so long, he'd have bothered saving my worthless life. After all… I was the reason the whole mess had started anyhow. Though we were almost the same, I was nothing like him.

Syaoran… he was pure. Selfless. Caring. He always thought of others before himself. Me? I was the complete opposite. Tainted. Selfish. Sure, you would think going so far as risking my life just so he could have a shot at something normal would be a pretty selfless act, right? Well, you're wrong. Though it may seem like that at first, my reasons for wanting to help him were not so pure. Oh no. I'm a selfish bastard. That's just the way I was made to be… the only reason why I was trying to save him was because I was scared. Scared that with him gone, I'd be left alone to face the demons that threatened to consume me every single moment of my life where I was left to my own devices. It was a wonder how I had managed to actually retain my sanity for as long as I had in that cell with Cherry. Time was running out for Syao. Every single day was crucial now. If I failed to accomplish the task we had set out, I would lose the only thing that made me feel like I was more than a lying, betraying scumbag.

A sharp throb in my chest brought me out of my self-loathing as Syaoran nudged my side with his nose. I forced myself to look into those big, soulful eyes. Intelligent, kind and forgiving eyes. How could he not hate me for all that I had done? The pain intensified as Syaoran let out a soft whine, my surroundings transitioning from the guest bedroom in Phoenix's mansion to _Verde_ _Abbacare_- the dreamlike realm where Syao and I both could meet as our true selves.

"You were doing it again." He accused softly, though that was just me. His tone made it sound like a simple statement, a statement that portrayed his disappointment but a statement nonetheless.

I decided to not grace that with a response. It was true after all.

"Syaoron." He sighed softly as he approached me.

"You know as well as I that no matter what you say, I won't ever be able to stop blaming myself for it." I responded in an equally quiet voice.

"I'll say it anyways." He said, gripping my shoulders as he forced me to turn around and face him, "It. wasn't. your. fault."

"I don't think I'd ever understand how you can say it all like it's no big deal." I averted my gaze, unable to bring myself to look into those eyes just like mine yet nothing like mine at the same time. "You can _die_ because of what I did yet you chose to look at me with such kind forgiving eyes, like I actually _deserve_ it all, to live this life, to _live in this body_."

"That's because you do."

"But that's just the thing." I said bitterly, "I don't. I'm not even human. I don't have a soul."

"I wish you would stop blaming yourself for what happened."

"And I wish you would _blame_ me for it."

"You need to be careful around Phoenix," he chose to change the topic entirely. The only thing we both had in common was our stubbornness. Just as I would never be able to convince him to hate me for what I did, he'd never be able to convince me to forgive myself for it either. "The way he looked at me earlier, it was almost like he knew what I was."

"I noticed that too." I nodded, "He won't give us away to that bastard though. He's definitely not fond of Fei."

"I know. There's something off about his scent too."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not as prominent but there is this aura about him that reminds me of blood."

"Blood? As in he recently killed someone?"

"No, it's a permanent part of him. Almost like Subaru and his brother."

"The twins, huh?" I almost felt my lips twitch into a smirk at that. Subaru was the guy that had taken us in after our world had been turned upside down. He taught us pretty much everything we both know today. Or rather, he taught me pretty much everything I know today. He taught me how to fight, how to handle myself, how to use magic in a fight… he is probably the only other person I think I owe my existence to. If it had not been for him coming across my tiny beaten body that cold, wet night, I would not have been alive to help Syao today. We both owe him a lot. Him and Kamui, who was Subaru's twin but unlike his brother was a rather closed off sort of guy. Didn't really like me much, said I took too much of his brother's time or something.

We ended up getting separated a few years back when one of their old acquaintances turned out to be a traitor and came for their blood, literally. I'll leave the details for another time but long story short, Subaru and Kamui are what people refer to as bloodsuckers or Vampires. Like magicians, vampires are a dying breed which increases their value all the more. Vampire blood is supposed to grant longevity and near immortality apart from heightened senses and all that shit. Of course there is the little downside of having to consume blood every so often along with regular food in order to survive but those two were the sort who were never really bothered by that little problem much. Probably because they weren't just any normal type of vampires. They were the elite of the elite. The Purebloods. It makes one wonder why they would live life like commoners on backwater planets instead of living a life of luxury and opulence.

It's not really my story to tell, though Subaru did divulge their history with me and Syaoran before they had both taken off when news of their old acquaintance reached them. Being who they were, their blood was in high demand by mortals. A few drops of blood from a Pureblood was sure to cure any illness, heal any wound and give a dying man new life. Key term being supposed to. It's not like it didn't do the above mentioned things because it did. The thing was that Purebloods also tended to turn you into one of them were you to consume their life-source. Actually, any vampire's blood would do that to you but a Pureblood's was just more… potent I suppose you could say. Vampires sired by a Pureblood were more powerful in comparison to the ones turned by say a Halfling or a Fledgling. Something to do with dilution of the original sire's blood and whatnot. Those two twins were on the run from someone who used to work for their parents.

The man had been sired by their father but something had made him turn over to that _Bastard's_ side. He killed their entire family for their blood and they had survived out of sheer dumb luck. The man claimed them to be the ones that got away and it was something of a dark mark for his otherwise wonderful record of capturing even the most elusive of vampires but I digress. Like I said, theirs is not my story to tell. Kamui and Subaru had told me that living a life as a vampire was a cursed existence, one neither of the brothers wished on anyone which was probably why they never tried turning me. Turning someone was a choice they reserved as something of a last resort to say… save the life of someone they cared about.

"Syaoron," he must have noticed my glassy-eyed look because Syaoran spoke up all of a sudden, "you never did get around to telling me what important discovery you made before you got yourself captured."

"I think I might have found a lead this time." I can't help but grin as I tell him that. I'm glad he had let go of the topic of me blaming myself for now. He'll be sure to bring it up again in the future but for now, I'm glad I can just talkto him about how I plan on fixing that mistake I made all those years ago, "The ruins at Clow hold the key."

He raised a skeptical brow. "Is that the reason why you got the princess to come along?"

"Ah, but I didn't," I wagged a finger in a rather careless manner, "_she_ decided she wanted to come all by herself."

"But I do recall you chasing her down to that particular club," his tone hinted at his amusement as he said that, "Just because I'm stuck as a wolf doesn't mean I did not notice the way you were grinding against her on the floor."

"Details details," I replied airily, "The point is, we are one step closer to accomplishing our goal."

"She is nothing like Mei, Syaoron," he warned, growing a little serious as he look me in the eye in that meaningful way of his, one that makes him so different from me, "Your pseudo-girlfriend is tough but the princess hasn't truly seen just how fucked up the world can be. Don't make her fall for you if you're planning on doing what I think you are."

"Where would I be if I didn't have you acting as my conscience?"

"Somewhere very unpleasant?" he offered helpfully.

"Or on a sunny beach," I grinned back cockily as I felt Syaoran let go of the spell holding us in this world, "with my personal harem."

"One step at a time brother. We can work on your personal harem later."

I opened my eyes to find the face of a brown wolf staring at me with incredibly intelligent eyes.

"One step at a time it is." I murmured back, smiling softly as I sat up, looking at the sunlight streaming in through the tiny gap in the curtains. Our teacher might have been happy had he seen me tackle a problem in a sensible fashion. But after what I had done…

The timely announcement of breakfast being laid out for the guests by Flourite's butler stopped me from going down that train of thought again. Stretching out and hearing my back give a couple of pops, I pushed off the sheets from my body and climbed out of bed, greeting the day with a newfound enthusiasm. I had a gut-feeling that today would prove to be a special day. Call it a hunch or whatever, but I just knew that something unexpected awaited me.

Maybe if I had known then that the unexpected might also be similar to receiving a sucker-punch to the gut, I might have been less keen about flashing my trademark smirk at Cherry as I eyed her from bottom to top and then down again as she emerged from her bedroom, still dressed in my loose t-shirt and her pair of short shorts underneath. Her acidic glare would have sent a lesser man running for the hills but I always did like a little challenge. Grinning even as Syao yipped once at my heels in warning, I followed behind her, my eyes following the sway of her hips as she made her way down the corridor a few steps in front of me.

Phoenix and Eva joined us near the corridor that led apparently led to the dining hall. Eva was hanging off the blond bastard's right arm and he had the gall to offer his left arm to Cherry who took it with a small giggle. My mood soured a little at that and really that should have been indication enough for me that things were not going to head my way that day but I was too busy seething over the fact the blond bastard had to just _do_ that. Right as he had led Eva and Cherry into the opulent dining hall, he had shot me a smug looking grin over his shoulder.

"Shut up Syoa," I growled under my breath, following after the trio just as my incognito brother started laughing his head off at my heels. "It's not funny."

_It's quite funny if you look at it from my point of view_, he seemed to be saying in response but I only just grit my teeth and marched in, purposefully dragging the chair across the floor as noisily as I could before situating myself right besides Cherry, daring the smug bastard to do anything about it through my narrowed eyes.

_**A/N: Yeah, so this is the un-betaed version but I hope you enjoyed it all the same. A bit of a filler I know but I've got a lot of stuff on my mind to be honest and I haven't really been able to work on some of the plots like I would have liked and final year is honestly hell but I keep telling myself it will all be over in two more months. I sure hope my updates will be more frequent after graduation as I hunt for a job and waste my time in front of my laptop the rest of the time. ;)**_

_**Leave an review and tell me what you think~**_


	12. Beating of the Drums

**_A/N: So after nearly a year of absence, I have finally managed to put together a chapter that doesn't make me cringe every time I look at it. For the benefit of those of you who are too lazy to go back and re-read the previous chapters, I'll put in a short recap. Normally I'm one of the lazy ones too but since I wanted the recap to be accurate and all, I did go back to re-read the story and it was a fun read though I might be going back some day to rewrite the beginning few chapters._**

**_Recap:_**

_Wolf and Syao along with Cherry acquire Eva's services to find a pilot that can bring them to Clow undetected. The pilot turns out to be Eva's fiancé Phoenix who knows Cherry's true identity as that of the Princess of Clow. He agrees to take them there and as of right now, the gang comprising of Cherry, Wolf and Syao are all awaiting sunset when they can be ready for departure._

Breakfast started off bright and early…way too early for my liking. It was only seven in the morning. _Who in the world wakes up at that ungodly hour anymore?_ Apparently, Phoenix and every other bastard like him out there. I stifled a yawn, playing around with the cereal in my bowl as I heard Cherry recall one tale or another about her childhood antics. Occasionally Phoenix would pitch in and say something that would send both Eva and Cherry into a fit of giggles. At times, I could even hear Syao snickering in his distinctively-wolfish way. _Why am I even awake at this time?_ I should have known there was a reason the bastard did not have a clock in his guest room.

It was, of course, to keep _me_ from getting the sleep I deserved. Shoving my chair back as Phoenix went on to enlighten us all about how he had snuck the royal siblings out of the castle for a night out on his cruiser, I stood up.

"This is all very interesting, I'm sure, but seeing as we won't be leaving for another six hours, I'm gonna go and catch up on my sleep. See ya later, Eva, Dollface." Flashing another smirk at the way Cherry bristled at the nickname, I sauntered out of the dining hall and back to the guest bedroom. Or at least, that had been my intention. Unfortunately, I spent the next two hours wandering about the bloody maze of a mansion trying to get back. Syao had still been enjoying his breakfast of a juicy steak when I had left, so I didn't even have _him_ to help me out. In the end, it was the grand bastard, Phoenix himself, who found me.

"I thought you were going back to bed," he said, one side of his mouth quirked up in amusement.

"I decided on taking a stroll instead," I replied coolly.

_Oh, how I wished to throttle your skinny neck._

"Might I suggest going out in the gardens then?" he quirked a brow before turning to walk away, strutting about as though he owned the place- which now that I think about it, he actually did. "Coming, Mister Wolf?" he gave me an impatient look over his shoulder when I didn't immediately follow him.

"So tell me," I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jeans as I drew up next to him, "how long ago was it that you served the Royal Family?"

"Eleven years."

_Eleven years? You have got to be fuckin' kidding me! _

At most, the guy looked like he was _twenty-two!_ And even a street-urchin like me, knew that it's impossible to get your flying license at the age of eleven! Hell, you'd need to be at least sixteen to even _get_ into flying school. Add two years of training and shit and then you get to take the test. And another year on probation, doing odd jobs for your flying school, before you are even eligible to apply anywhere.

"You seemed surprised." I _knew_ he was laughing on the inside.

"You don't look a day over twenty-two, Phoenix," I narrowed my eyes at the blond.

"I don't normally tell this to someone I have only met," he spoke after a little while, opening the doors that led out into a magnificent garden, "but seeing as Eva is quite taken with you and your little _pet_ I suppose you're not a threat. My fiancé is a very good judge of character." His skin seemed to become a shade paler than before as we walked into the sunlight and the cogs in my brain began to turn slowly. "I lost my eye trying to save a friend's life. Since my actions could have started a war, had I still been a part of the Royal Space Fleet, I resigned before going on my suicide mission."

"What does that have to do with you looking like this?" I quirked a brow, slowly making the connections, but wanting to hear him say it before I could go 'Aha! I knew it!'.

"I was dying," he shrugged, "but rogue pilots are not exactly treated in a hospital without being arrested. A pair of vampires owed my friend a favor. Luckily, we crashed on the planet they were hiding on at the time. A few drops of their blood, and voila."

"So you're a vampire. Does Eva know about this?"

"Do you really think I would lie about who I am to the woman I love, Mr. Wolf?" Now he was openly smirking at me. "Or tell _you_ about myself if I had kept it hidden from her?"

Fighting back a flush, I looked away. Something about this guy just rubbed me wrong. And it wasn't just the fact that he was engaged to Eva. Or that he knew Cherry from her childhood. Or that he had the whole cool-rich-guy-who's-so-bored-living-the-high-life-he-resorts-to-smuggling-to-add-a-little-excitement thing going for him. Although that last thing might have been a bit of a contributing factor, mainly it was the way he acted. The way he spoke. Hell, even the way he moved. He reminded me of the man I had betrayed all those years ago. The man that was _dead_ because of me.

He reminded me of my teacher.

Which in itself was strange, considering the fact that they looked nothing alike. My teacher's hair was never this long or messy and his eyes were not blue and his skin was not this pale and…and he was not this lithe. Though Phoenix exuded an aura of power, my teacher…my teacher _was_ power. Well-built body, dark, spiky hair, unforgiving red eyes, though I had seen them soften in affection and love at times. My teacher had been dubbed a demon by his enemies for his ruthlessness. And yet, that man had been the one that had saved my worthless life when everyone else had cried out for my execution.

And I had repaid him by having him killed.

"We might be making a slight detour along the way," Phoenix said, breaking me out of my self-loathing, "since we will be breaking into one of the most secure places in this side of the galaxy, we will require some help from my old friend, Dragon."

"The one you lost an eye to save?" I quirked a brow at him, hurriedly covering up any misery on my face with a cocky smirk.

"The one I lost an eye to save," he agreed as he calmly turned around and began leading me inside.

-0-

_Floating in the darkness, not existing, not living, not breathing, not anything._

_Ba-dump._

_The twitch of a muscle, the flutter of an eye._

_Ba-dump._

_Breathe in._

_Ba-dump._

_Exhale._

_ -dump._

_Leaden lids parting. Light, bright _bright_ light._

_Ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump._

_Fuzzy shapes. Eyes staring at him through liquid, dark, soulless eyes hidden behind rounded spectacles._

_"You're a beautiful feat of science and magic. Unique. One of a kind, my little wolf."_

_Ba-dump._

_A twitch of a finger._

_Ba-dump._

_Inhale._

_Ba-dump._

_Exhale._

_Ba-dump._

_Loud thunder echoing everywhere, screams and fear and running._

_"Sir! The Royal Guard has found our location."_

_"Hold them off for as long as possible." Soulless eyes turn away, screaming orders. "He is not yet ready to be born."_

_"Sir, we are already holding them off, if we wait any longer, they will have us surrounded!"_

_Bang! Bang! Bang! _

_Red flowing from their bodies. Soulless eyes turning to face him, "Do we have any other problems? No? Good. We wait for him to be born. Dispose of the other."_

_Thunder growling and howling, rattling doors and shaking walls, more red, more blood. A loud crash and then falling, falling, can't breathe, can't feel. No air, no air, need to breathe, need to live._

_"Shit, the kid's choking." Strikes on his body, coughing, gasping for air, warmth covering him. "Somebody follow after that bastard Doctor. Don't let him get away!"_

_Red eyes. Red as the liquid from the bodies. Red like…blood._

_"Shit! Kid, are you okay?" Hands lifting him, can't move, can't breathe, "He's going into shock! Someone get me a damn medic here!"_

_"Sir! We have found the prince."_

_"What are you yammering about? The kid's right here!"_

_"_Kurogane-san!"_Red eyes widen._

_"Kid?"_

_No air. Can't move._

_"Oh, shit. Someone get me that damn medic!"_

_Can't breathe. Need air. _

_"Hang on, kid."_

_Need to breathe, need to… _

_Nothing._

-0-

After we went planet-side again, Fai went off to find his friend, while Syao, Cherry and I decided to browse through the bazaar in order to find some supplies. So there I was, one minute walking next to Dollface, grinning my charming grin as I tried to get my arm around her waist, and the next I heard a _whoosh_ and then a _wham_ as something slammed right into my jaw. I whirled around to teach the bastard who dared to punch me a lesson, only to stagger back in shock, losing my footing somewhere along the way to fall flat on my ass. Unable to draw a breath, I remained frozen in place, clutching my throbbing jaw as I stared up at those deadly, glowering eyes— eyes that his enemies had rightfully called demonic.

He was _alive!_ The man that I owed my life to, the very person that I had sent off to the gallows. The one whose trust I had betrayed, that man was still alive.

"You!" snarled the demon look-alike. "How dare you show _that_ face here?"

I remained frozen in shock, forgetting how to even draw a breath as I stared up at the red-eyes.

_Red like the blood on my hands._

Suddenly, a bristly tail was swishing in front of my eyes, cutting off my line of sight to the man's face as Syao jumped between us. I heard him growl at our former teacher as he assumed a protective stance before me.

"Still as violent as ever, Kurgz…" I heard Phoenix sigh somewhere behind me and I was suddenly aware of Cherry's soft fingers worriedly checking my face for injuries.

_When did she get here?_

"K-kid?" 'Kurgz' choked up above me, backing away from us in shock as his gaze shot back and forth between me and Syaoran several times. Shaking his head, he staggered away. "What the fucking hell happened to you?"

Syao whined in response, and as much as I wanted to tell the man now suddenly staring at the brown wolf in horror, I knew better then to open my mouth. Kurogane didn't even want to _see_ my face, let alone hear me speak. I was a mistake that he would curse to his dying breath. An abomination he would have been better off leaving for dead.

I might not have known who Phoenix's mysterious friend had been before I had come face to face with him, but… now that I knew, I wouldn't be going off planet alone.

I was the heartless bastard that would gouge at the Dragon's old scars and ask for his help to alleviate my guilt over the crimes I had committed. And I knew enough about the man to know that though he would like nothing more than to slice me open right where I sat, he'd help us. I knew enough about him to know that he'd do anything to help Syaoran, and I, being the soulless clone that I was, would use that little secret to its fullest extent.

-0-

_Ba-dump._

_Air…_

_Ba-dump._

_Breathe in._

_Ba-dump._

_Exhale._

_Ba-dump._

_Live._

_Ba-dump._

_Breathe._

_Ba-dump._

_Leaden lids parted once more._

_Ba-dump._

_Crimson eyes stared down at him._

_Ba-dump._

_"Good to see you finally woke up, kid."_

_Ba-dump._

_Ba-dump._

_Ba-dump._

_Live…_

**_A/N: and that's it for now. Reviews helps my plunnies breed and mutate and work in amazing ways so please help them take over the world and drop me lots of reviews so that you can get faster updates ;)_**


	13. Skeletons in the Closet

**_A/N: It's been a long time since I last updated this one, but I hope you guys are still following this fic. I'll try to be a little more regular with the updates for this one so keep your fingers crossed. A quick recap for what happened so far in case you guys have forgotten. _**

**_Recap:_**

_Wolf makes the discovery that Phoenix is a vampire a little while before they're set to depart. Once they arrive to pick up Phoenix's companion, the one that Phoenix claimed would help them get into Clow, it turns out that Dragon is in fact the same man that Wolf had betrayed eleven years ago and that Wolf is actually Syao's clone and not his brother. _

**_And that's it for the recap, so enjoy. Don't forget to review. ;)_**

You know, being what I am, I don't have dreams too often. Something to do with how I came into being and all, I suppose, but when I do… they all revolve around the same thing. The time that I've dubbed as 'before'. Considering how often I had been dreaming of the _before_ lately, I really should have taken it as an omen. Then I wouldn't have been caught off-guard by this unexpected encounter with a ghost from my past. I wouldn't have been left to massage my bruised jaw, wondering if the demon's punch had somehow fractured my jaw.

And maybe if I had taken those dreams as omens, I would have been better to deal with all this _guilt _bubbling up inside me. Trust me when I say this: that moment when I had first looked up into those glowering red eyes, I had just about been ready to piss in my pants. Though once Cherry and Phoenix had explained the gist of our situation to him and asked for his help, Dragon had given us a stiff nod and declared he would like to discuss it all in greater depth in the safety of his home. Unnerved and a little numb, I had followed after everyone else as my teacher lead us through a maze of narrow dirt streets. I couldn't help but wonder about what his life had been like after my betrayal.

I still couldn't believe that he was still alive, though now that I think about it, it somewhat made sense in a twisted sort of way for him to have survived. The man I had known all those years ago had never seemed like the type to go down without a fight after all. And having someone like Phoenix, who - I'll never admit this outloud, though— is actually a pretty decent pilot, to help him break out of captivity would just be the sort of thing.

A short while later, I tried not to fidget under Dragon's glowering gaze as he poured Phoenix and Cherry each a cup of sake before taking a swig from the bottle himself.

_What would his life have been like if he hadn't made the call to save me? _I wonder, spotting the tattoo of a dragon twisting up the skin of his right arm. _Wouldn't be stuck as a nobody on Xerox, that's for sure._

Xerox was a backwater planet at the edges of civilized space. Its entire population consists of nothing more than discarded clones and renegades on the run from the law, so usually it's ignored by the authorities so long as the clones stick to themselves and the traitors try not to show their faces amongst the civilized society. I should have realized that if there was one place that he could have found a life on after I had stabbed him in the back, this would be it.

But honestly, I had no idea that he was still alive. I mean, the last time I had seen him, he was being dragged to the gallows. And now, he's got a family with his wife and a kid and even a semi-respectable job as the owner of a dojo.

See, a few decades back when cloning was _all that_, corporations used it as a means for free labor all over the systems. And then, the questions of the morality and ethics of using human beings, however they may have come into being, was raised by those guys who need one cause or another to stand up for against the corporate world. Still, the questions they asked grew in popularity until the companies that used this method of employment were forced to let go of their cloned slaves. However, considering how they had never quite intended on letting the clones go free in the world in the first place, there had been no plan on where to put them.

In the end, all the companies piled in some money and hastily terraformed the planet of Xerox and dumped all the clones off on its surface. To ensure no one who was not supposed to get off would actually make it off planet, all the clones were branded by tattoos on some part of their body, depending on which company they had originally belonged to. It was not unheard for renegades to do the same to hide in plain sight by taking on one of these tattoos and living the rest of their lives in exile on Xerox. After all, everyone knows a clone has no soul, myself included. Clones aren't supposed to have any magic either, which does raise the question as to why _I'm_ able to use it. Seeing how I wasn't exactly grown in a mass-production cloning facility but an illegal research lab, I suppose that can be excused.

I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm even sitting in the same room with Dragon as he offers sake to my current travelling companions and _not _me- seriously, you'd think a guy could let go of a grudge after punching the living daylights out of me. I mean, so I fucked up his life! But if it's revenge he wants, he should probably get in line or join the club, he's not the only one I've screwed over. He doesn't have to take it out on me by glowering and _still_ scaring the crap out of me. Or not giving me any booze… Seriously, that's just _wrong_ on so many levels. Not to mention rude. Though I really shouldn't be the one to talk about rude, I suppose.

I tried not to cower as Dragon's gaze shot in my direction yet again, Syao uncharacteristically silent from his spot on the floor beside me as we sat in one of side rooms of Dragon's dojo. Phoenix had been doing most of the talking so far and though Dragon had been shooting venomous glares at me, he had avoided looking down at Syao at all. Syao did whine quietly at this lack of attention, though the man we both had once called teacher remained unmoved. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this lack of attention towards my brother. Maybe Dragon felt so guilty over what had become of his student he could not bear to look him in the eye anymore? If so, I would most certainly be using it to our advantage. Whatever the cost, I had to make sure I could get Syao his body back. Even if it meant…

"What about him?" I was drawn out of my thoughts by Dragon's gruff voice, irritation coloring it completely as I looked up in surprise to see him jerking his head towards me. "If you want to help the princess free her brother, how does _he_ work into this whole equation?"

"He doesn't," Phoenix responded simply, as though he was merely mentioning it was sunny outside, "I'm merely providing him with my services at the request of my fiancé. He has nothing to do with the Royal siblings."

"What's his interest in going to that world, then?"

Phoenix merely shrugged as though that explained everything.

Before Dragon could demand an explanation of me, however, the rice paper door slid apart and a young brat poked her head inside to rattle off something rapidly in Xerox's native tongue- one that I hadn't bothered to learn. Dragon replied in a clipped tone and the brat nodded before retreating.

"Your daughter?"Phoenix quirked a brow once the kid had left.

"Souma," Dragon nodded as he climbed to his feet, "Tomoyo has set dinner for everyone, so we should go and eat now."

I know he said 'everyone', but I was sure he would like nothing more than to _not_ see my face at the table and I was only too happy to oblige as I took my time in getting up, conveniently falling behind and getting lost once we exited.

-0-

_ The tears fell unbidden even as I tried to muffle my sobs, biting down on the sleeve of my shirt when I failed, trying to remain undetected for as long as possible. The caretaker had said I was an abomination. A creation born of a twisted mind. She wasn't the only one. The servants all talked too, when my new mother and father could not hear. Brother promised he would talk to mother and father about this, but what if she was right? What if…what if I _was_ a monster? Brother could have died because he was taken away by Master to create me… _

_"Kid! Are you here?" _

_I pressed my back harder into the bush. Maybe Kurogane-sama wouldn't notice me and I could remain here until I faded away. With the cold and the snow, it wouldn't be a very long wait, but then golden light blinded me as strong hands pulled me out from my hiding space. I was set on my feet, supported by the same warm fingers when I swayed dangerously._

_"Shit, you're freezing," Kurogane-sama said, draping his warm jacket around my tiny, shivering frame before picking me up, "are you mad? Hiding out here in this freezing weather. Do you _want _to die?"_

_"W-Would be g-good thing…" I got through my chattering teeth, burying my face unintentionally into the warmth of his shoulder, "'m a mo-monster…" _

_I felt Kurogane-sama freeze in his steps at that as he pulled me away to look at me, "Who said that to you?"_

_I whined at the loss of warmth, not wanting to say anything more but he held fast, forcing me to meet his gaze, "Kid, who said that to you?"_

_"Careta-taker…" _

_-0-_

_Just a creation born of a twisted mind. An abomination. A thing meant to destroy. A monster. That was my purpose in existing._

_Or so said the whispers that followed me everywhere I went. All the time, except for when I was around the crimson-eyed demon. A demon who was my savior. To him, I was just a child. Surprising how a monster turns into a harmless little kid to the blood-thirstiest of them all. _

_Yet I wasn't one to turn it away. Even back then, unknowingly as it might have been, I took everything that was given to me and then when I couldn't get it, I stole and stole and stole till they had nothing left. That's what I did to them. The king and the queen and the prince. The ones who took me in and made me a part of their family. But I was just a pawn. So I stole and stole and stole till the king was dead and the queen was dead and the prince was no more and then, when there was no one left, I blamed the crimson-eyed savior. And thus, I paved the road to victory for my master. The one who created me. The one who brought me into existence. The only one who…truly cared about me._

_It wasn't until I had taken all that I could steal and snatch from the world that I realized how wrong I was. I was just a tool. A creation. An abomination that had finished serving its purpose; to be discarded. _

"You're a selfish bastard," I heard Kurogane growl as he came to sit next to me. It was late at night and everyone else had already fallen asleep. I had slipped up to the roof instead of going in for dinner with everyone else because I didn't have the guts to face Tomoyo after what I had put her through. And even when everyone else had come back and Syaoran had whined at me to come down and eat something, I had remained where I was, unmoving until he'd given up and wandered off.

I can still remember the shock and the fear that had coursed through my whole body when I'd first heard the guards discussing Tomoyo's miscarriage. It had happened right around the time Kurogane was going to be beheaded. They had been expecting their first child when I had betrayed their trust and destroyed their lives. I was the reason why their Souma had no older sibling. And I was also the reason why none of them would be able to leave this planet without facing serious repercussions.

"I'm a clone," I replied, turning to stare at him evenly, "what else would you expect from an abomination?"

Despite all that I had stolen from him, a part of me still expected him to deny my statement like he always had when I was little. Instead he merely narrowed his eyes and said nothing. His silence hurt a lot more than the punch that I had received earlier in the day, though I covered up my pain with an arrogant smirk.

"If you willingly sought me out, there's something you want to know," I said, leaning back on the tiled roof. "You already have the story from Phoenix and Cherry about why we want to go to Clow. Just so we're clear, though, it wasn't my idea to come here."

"I already know why those two want to go to Clow. What I don't get is why _you _want to go there."

"About fifteen years ago, a team of scientists at an undisclosed location began working on a top secret research project," I said as I stared up at the unfamiliar constellation. "Fei Wang Reed caught wind of the project and made the scientist work for him on what later came to be known as Project Tsubasa."

"Get to the point."

"Syaoran is dying." I didn't turn to look at what his reaction might be to hearing that. "His soul won't stay bonded with the body he possesses right now. A pair of scientists from the project have hidden the key to saving his life in the ruins at Clow. So there, now you know why _I'm _interested in going there."

"Why do you care about what happens to the kid?"

"I don't," I shrugged, before closing my eyes. "I'm not capable of feeling anything because I don't have a soul, but I like to imagine that if I _could _feel anything, I'd want to get revenge. You see, when I was a kid, I used to have a master who led me to believe that I was something special. That I had a destiny to fulfill so I would do whatever he asked of me, without question. Of course, as soon as he got what he wanted, my dear old master discarded me like the broken, useless tool that I had become. You could say that saving Syao's life is just step one of the revenge plan I'd enact_ if_ I had a soul."


End file.
